Alphabetum
by Poisoned Scarlet
Summary: 26 moments, one for every letter of the alphabet, that Ed and Winry share from childhood to adulthood.
1. A is for Alchemy

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

**Summary: **26 moments, one for every letter of the alphabet, that Ed and Winry share from childhood to adulthood.**  
Rating: **T to M, for graphic descriptions, mild gore, sexual themes. It may definitely rise to M on some one-shots...just a forewarning.**  
Pairing: **Ed/Winry; an assortment of others that will be revealed in due time...**  
Main Genre(s): **Romance/Humor/Hurt/Comfort**  
A/N: **_Since I finished my Color Collection I decided to make an Alphabet collection for Ed and Winry! I've had this idea in my head for a while now and it merely blossomed when I visited the NejiTenten archive after a year of absence. I discovered there were about twenty Alphabet-prompt fictions for the pairing. I haven't see one for Fullmetal Alchemist yet so I decided to create one myself! _

_If you wish to create one as well, go ahead. I don't mind so long as the letter-prompts aren't the same as my own. Or if some of them are, at least don't make it seem too similar to mine._

_And, I know I started this with their childhood but it won't go from childhood to adulthood necessarily. They'll skip around a lot, depending on the prompt I make for the letter! They might also not revolve around Ed and Winry, like this one does. This one is more Ed-centric. _

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any other media mentioned in this, and future, fanfiction. I make no profit from this.

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_**A** _is fo_r **A**_lchemy

_

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_

Edward peered through the crack of the door, watching the backside of his father as he slaved away to another one of those ancient tomes that made his nose itchy. His fingers gripped the edge of the door, pushing it out slightly and stopping when it made a creaking noise. His fathers writing paused momentarily before continuing and Edward thought he hadn't heard him.

"Edward, what is it?" Hohenheim asked softly, as the little boy froze and stepped back hastily, as if bothering his father was the highest crime. His father turned, a small smile on his lips. Edward felt that he was not in trouble, not by the kind look on his face, and was bold enough to step inside the study.

"Wha's that?" Ed asked, as he ran to the desk and tried to peer over the edge. He wasn't tall enough, however, and he had to hop in order to catch glimpses of his fathers work.

"Books," Hohenheim smiled, earning a pouty look from Ed.

"Noooo! Not that! _That_!" Ed leaped up and managed to grab a paper, to which his father promptly tried to get back but he was too slow. Edward observed the strange drawing upon the sheet: the perfect circle with odd symbols and lines running throughout the inside. He touched it with his fingers, tracing a line that looped around a strange asterisk-like shape.

"That is a transmutation circle, Edward." Hohenheim's voice startled Ed back to reality. He looked up at his father with wide, curious, eyes.

"Transmu'a'ion circle?"

"Transmutation circle."

Ed stared back as if saying 'that's what I said' and Hohenheim chuckled, leaning down to explain the symbol to his eldest. Edward seemed fascinated by what he was saying and Hohenheim took this as a good sign, pointing to several symbols and explaining their significance in terms he would understand. But it didn't seem to matter much to Edward; he seemed to understand just fine even if he slipped up and use an advanced word.

"It is, basically, what you draw on the ground in order to create an alchemical reaction," he further stated. Hohenheim leaned forward, chair creaking with his weight, and grabbed a piece of chalk from his pencil box. He handed it to Ed, who took it with great care.

"You usually use chalk when you do this."

"And I draw it on the ground?" Ed asked, excitedly. "And then? And then!"

"Alchemy happens," Hohenheim smiled.

Ed frowned. "That's it?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Ed rolled the chalk over in his hand, deliberating his fathers words. "So nothing else happens?"

"Well, of course something happens. When something does happen, that is called an alchemical reaction: alchemy. Here, let me show you." Hohenheim took the chalk from Ed's hands and stood, towering over the boy. He kneeled and expertly drew the circle for standard transmutation, Ed's gold eyes following every movement with unabashed excitement.

He watched his father glance around for something.

"Edward, can you hand me that glass bottle over there?"

"This one?" Ed shouted, picking up the bottle that his mother had sternly told him to never, ever, open because there was bad stuff inside that would make him sick. He still wanted to try it, but his dad always drank it down before he could sneak some.

"Yes, bring it here."

Hohenheim took the bottle and placed it in the middle of the circle.

Ed held his breath, eyes widening with sheer awe when his father clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground. Energy crackled around the circle, illuminating the perfect lines a sky blue. The bottle suddenly seemed to melt – decompose, Ed remembered vaguely – and form into something else; something smooth and curved and shiny.

The crackle suddenly stopped and Hohenheim picked up a glass plate. He handed it to Edward for him to admire, watching his son carefully hold it in his hands. He brought it up to his face and looked through it, able to see a contorted image of his father from it.

He giggled, twisting the plate around as it made his father look funny.

"This is what you call Alchemy," Hohenheim explained. "It is the science of which all is composed of; the understanding of decomposition and re-composition of matter. What I did was deconstruction – deconstructing the bottle and reconstructing it into something else. This being a plate, for instance. But this theory can be applied to other objects as well. It can also be used singularly."

Edward nodded, squeezing the plate to see that it was, indeed, stable.

Alchemy. Alchemy had created this which he held in his hands. His father had created it, shared the secrets with him, and Ed felt a swell of pride well within him at being confided with such a huge secret. Even his mother sometimes wondered what he spent hours-on-end doing up in the study.

Now Ed knew.

It was alchemy.

"Now, then, out with you," Hohenheim shoo'd. "Before Trisha yells at me for teaching you this...honestly, that woman overreacts sometimes..."

Ed glanced back at his father once he reached the door, to his hunched body over the desk once more, and dropped his gaze to the ground; to the drawn circle on the floor which created this magnificent object he held in his hands.

That symbol was imprinted in his mind.

That word was burned into his memory; the science which kept his father chained down in his study for hours everyday.

Alchemy.

"Edward!" Trisha called, climbing up the stairs and frowning when she saw her son brooding by his fathers study. "How many times have I told you not to bother your father? He is very busy and you shouldn't interrupt him!"

"Alchemy," Edward clarified, earning a look of surprise from Trisha. "He's studying alchemy."

"Right, and you shouldn't bother him while he's studying alchemy. Come downstairs to play with Alphonse while I go get the laundry...what's that you have there?" Trisha walked over to Ed, peering into his hands and taking the plate he held in them. "Oh. Where did you get this from?"

"Dad," Ed mumbled. He reached for the plate. "Give it back! Dad made it for me! Mommy!"

Trisha frowned, setting her hands on her hips as Ed jumped and tried to reach for the plate. He groaned into her apron, hands clutching the material. He slumped against her legs, as Trisha continued to mull over this small discovery.

"Honey?" Trisha said, hand atop of Ed's head as she wobbled to the study door. Ed tried to push her back but she was too strong, to his chagrin. "Is it true you made this plate for Ed?"

"Yes," came Hohenheim's meek voice. "I, uh, didn't you need some more? I once heard you complain about not having enough dinner plates because Ed and Al broke them a while ago..."

Trisha smiled in remembrance. "Oh, yes, I did, didn't I?"

"Mommy! Give it back! Give it back! It's mineee! Mom," Ed groaned, bottom lip jutting out. He felt tears start to sting his eyes. "Mommy! Give it back..."

"Oh, Ed, don't you start crying now." Trisha soothed him by patting his head. "How about we make this your special plate, hmm? Everytime you eat, you'll eat only on this one, is that okay?"

"Okay..." Ed sniffed, looking down to avoid further embarrassment. He was five and a big boy and big boys didn't cry over things like these. Only babies like Al did. Speaking of which..."Can Al eat on it, too?"

"If you want to."

"I don't want to."

"Why not? Alphonse is your brother, Edward, and you should share your things with him! He lets you play with his toys—"

"No!" Ed scowled, stubbornly. "It's _my _plate!"

Trisha sighed, smiling wryly as Ed hugged her leg. She gently pushed him away and returned the plate, watching her son hug it to his chest with a happy grin. "Go downstairs with Alphonse. And please, Edward, don't bully him! If he starts crying, I'll know it was you!"

"'kay!" Ed made the mad dash down the stairs, keen on telling his younger brother the wonders of alchemy and shoving it in his face that his father made _him_ something but nothing for him.

Needless to say, that evening was spent with a sobbing Alphonse and a smug Edward.

Trisha solely blamed Hohenheim for his naivete when it came to children.


	2. B is for Banter

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

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_**B **_is for _**B**_anter

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He always had an aggressive, arrogant, way of holding himself. He had the air of someone with a rich bank of knowledge. His speech was widely made up of words she sometimes didn't even know existed and his tone was often sarcastic and biting. He was serious at best and lofty at worst but somehow Winry always liked him when he was angry.

That was probably why they fought so much.

She liked the way his eyes flashed with the telltale signs of irritation and the way he scowled, so deliberately she sometimes wondered if he did it on purpose. His stance when they fought was rigid, as if he wanted to go off on her, but relaxed, as if he enjoyed their banter as well.

She certainly did.

She sometimes wondered if he did, too.

"You're a beast, Ed!" Winry complained, holding up a piece of her precious automail in her hands. It was the plate which covered his forearm and, with a wince, she watched as another piece fell from it and crashed to the floor. He'd demolished this arm, right down to the core! "What the heck does Colonel Mustang make you two do?" She retrieved the fallen piece quickly, cradling it in her arms. It was definitely unusable now but she was sure a quick melt-down and hammering would fix that.

Ed shrugged as he fell back on the couch. "This and that – nothing really important."

"Then how come you always come back to me with a busted up arm?" Winry growled, as she placed the remainder of the arm upon the table. She could now use her new designs but it still pissed her off at how careless he seemed to be regarding his automail. The limbs might be fake and feel no pain but it that was not a reason to neglect them so badly! She had the urge to add those new pain receptors to his automail arm but decided it against it instantly – if he was always engaged in dangerous fights the last thing he needed was an _artificial_ arm that could _feel, _per say.

"Hey, it's not my fault everyone wants to pick a fight with me," Ed said, matter-of-factly.

"It is so! You just can't keep your big mouth shut! I think that's the only thing about you that's actually _big_."

Ed bristled at the comment, catching the underlying insult. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Exactly what its suppose to mean, idiot!" Winry snapped. "Aside from your humongous head, your mouth is runner up! No wonder you're so _short_."

"Who're you calling so short jumping off the curb would be suicidal!"

"Ha! You're so short it'd take you days to walk to said curb!" Winry shot back.

Ed snarled, eyes flashing dangerously. Winry caught herself staring at them again, the burnished, passionate, shade of gold they took, before his words pierced through her cloudy thoughts.

"That makes absolutely no sense!" he shouted.

"It makes total sense!" She shook her head to clear her mind and added: "Your steps are short hence it'll take you days to reach the curb 'cause the length of your strides are short. Get it?"

Ed was baring his teeth, body coiled up and ready for launch. Winry only grinned, as she grabbed a piece of her broken up automail and pushed it over to the scrap pile.

"You're such a bit—"

"Brother!" Al gasped, dropping the alchemy book he had been reading.

"What? You didn't even let me finish!" Ed complained.

"You were about to call her a..a..."

"Bitch," Ed said simply, yelping when he saw the glint of metal and a sudden blossom of pain attacked his forehead. He clutched his head, groaning as he tried to rub out the throb. "Ouch! What the hell? That hurt!"

Winry huffed. "That's what you get for calling me a bitch, you shrimp!"

"I'm not small, goddamn it!" Ed howled angerly, hissing when the pain in his skull grew worse. "I'm still growing! Males don't stop growing until they reach the age of eighteen! I'm at the age where growth spurts are sudden and necessary! Why can't you people understand this?"

"Why can't you understand that you're short and you'll probably always _be _short!" Winry countered, starting a whole new argument about milk, stature, and shouting words that would make even Pinako plug her ears up.

Alphonse watched them suspiciously, picking up his book and thinking their banter was mere pretense to hide something deeper. His theory was further proved when Winry got up in Ed's face, glaring into his eyes with a veiled emotion. He watched his brother sit rigid in his seat, mouth twisted in a snarl, while his eyes flickered with an intense fire that made Al pink as it looked like they were having some sort of moment.

It was probably all a front, Al decided, immersing himself back into his book and letting them have their little moment.

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_**A/N: **_I wasn't very pleased with how this one turned out, mostly because I think it's missing something...but after spending 5 days just looking it over, I decided I can't find what it's missing so I might as well post it up. Actually, I lie, I kind of do know whats missing, but I know that if I add it in here it'll become a huge monster of a one-shot...o.o

Please review! :D

_Scarlett._


	3. C is for Camisole

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

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_**C**_ is for **_C_**amisole

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_Damn it, this is so _wrong, Ed thought, jaw clenched so tightly the whole bottom portion of his face was starting to go numb from the pain. He kept his hands balled and wedged between his thighs – for once, thankful that his automail limb could keep them tightly locked together without tiring even when his flesh one's did.

Winry laughed, shoulder shaking... _chest moving..._and he vehemently snapped his eyes down to the ground. To the grassy, dew-licked, floor. They were all lounging in Central Park. The entire sector under Mustang's command was with the brothers, chatting amicably with one another as the recently-promoted General poured himself another drink.

Riza Hawkeye snatched the bottle and sent him a dark look, muttering something about not being able to consume alcohol since his medication for his mildly blind eyes would react with the drink.

Mustang merely frowned and drank what he could from the cup.

Alphonse was playing with Black Hayate, enjoying his restored flesh body, and Kain Fuery was somewhere beside him, most likely quietly observing all of them.

Winry was chatting with Maria Ross and Rebecca, bursting out in laughter every couple of minutes before continuing their 'girl' talk about heavy artillery and new advancements within the fields of medicine and mechanics.

The rest were spread out around a nice patch of grass in the park, all deeply engrossed in their conversations and enjoying their day off rather well.

All except Edward.

He was sitting within the circle of friends: close enough to be roped into a conversation but far enough to enjoy the simple views this park offered in silence. Currently, he was pretending to gaze at a large oak tree before him, trying with admirable inner-will to not look at Winry and to _not_, and he meant _NOT, _stare at her chest.

Her heaving chest.

Her possibly perfectly sculpted chest.

The best chest he had _ever _had the luxury of stare_—_

_DAMN IT! _Ed shut his eyes, only to open them once more as images of her chest flashed behind his lids. What was wrong with him? Why had her chest suddenly become so damn appealing over the past few months? It had been nearly a year since the Promised Day fiasco and since then he had led a typically average life. There was adventure and thrill, of course, during the assignments he had tagged along in under Mustang's orders but there wasn't that hidden urgency; the need to extend the days as they were far too short nor the need to progress in their study of the Philosopher's Stone.

Those feelings were replaced with boredom and even wistfulness.

But now a new object was keeping him hooked: Winry's chest.

But it wasn't _just _her chest, he had discovered a few days ago, it was her body in general.

Her waist.

Her hands.

Her lips, definitely.

And her _rear end _often distracted him enough to trip over his feet or slowly withdraw from a conversation.

But her _chest. _That was the thing that kept him awake in night or had him storming into the bathroom very early in the morning – before his brother woke up – to take care of some annoying needs.

_You're a perverted freak! _Ed shouted violently in his head. _How can you think about her that way? It's sick! _But it _wasn't_ sick at the same time, rather normal, considering his deep emotional relationship with her and the fact that she was attractive, and it was these thoughts that made his resolve to ignore her developed body much harder to sustain.

Winry had also picked a bad day to wear that...that _shirt _that couldn't even be considered a shirt! An undershirt at best but not a shirt to wear in _public_! It was white with thin straps and he could faintly see the gray color of her bra. It hugged her figure, accentuating her hour-glass waist, and made Ed want to crawl under the sheets of his bed and just sleep the day away.

It was beginning to get harder and harder to restrain himself from doing anything that would fit into the 'molesting' and 'harassing' category of things.

He often avoided contact with her at all costs and tried not to be left alone with her when they were together. He usually used his little brother as a means for escape and never let his guard down for one second. Every day was a battle of wills between his wants and his logic and frankly Ed was getting sick and tired of it.

He had tried looking at other girls but it wasn't the same. Somehow, someway, he found defects that turned him off automatically and somehow, someway, Winry seemed to be riddled with _perfections_ that Ed found appealing as ridiculous because no being in this world was perfect; everyone had their own set of bad traits and physical characteristics that defined them from others.

She just so-happened to be what he was looking for in a woman, was that so bad?

_Yes, _he thought darkly. _It's very, very bad. She'd my childhood friend! A sister almost. What the hell am I doing, thinking about her like that? _But he was still relieved he wasn't really her brother. Then this would be doubly horrifying.

He pushed those thoughts away before they soured his stomach anymore.

"Full Metal?" Mustang called, and Ed turned to face him, wiping his face of anything that might resemble an inner struggle. "Are you alright there? You seem a little... _tense._" The way he said it made it seem worse than it really was.

"I'm fine," Ed said curtly. "I'm just a little sleep deprived."

Mustang rose a brow. "I thought you had given up reading until the unholy hours of the morning after the restoration of Alphonse's body."

"Old habits die hard."

"Never have there been truer words," Mustang murmured, coal eyes sharply fixed on Ed's expressionless mask. He wondered how the hell he could tell he was tense when Mustang was half-blind as it was. The Philosopher's Stone might've restored his vision but it wasn't exactly perfect. He blamed it on the military training. "But it doesn't take a genius to figure out something is very wrong with you."

"Nothing is wrong," Ed replied, trying to think of how he acted when he was normal. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, for one, your much too quiet. Usually, you'd be picking a fight with me and we'd be engaged in friendly banter until either Miss Winry or Hawkeye separate us before we hurt each other," Roy explained, and Ed inwardly groaned. He had a point. Ed never passed up an opportunity to torture the recovering half-blind Flame Alchemist.

Edward sat back in his chair, forcing his shoulders to loosen up and reciting the entire Periodic Table in his head in order to release the death-grip he had on his legs. He gazed back up at the sky, pretending to contemplate Mustang's words when in reality he was trying to keep his eyes from straying toward Winry – or, rather, the part of Winry he considered a blessing as well as a curse.

"You have a point but haven't you thought that maybe I'm just too tired to start something?" Ed countered, releasing a well-practiced fake-yawn in response. "I'd have you eating dirt if I actually tried, Mustang."

"Yeah, right," Mustang snorted. "You and what army?"

"This army," he flipped the General off, earning himself a chuckle and a shake of the head.

"There we go, that's the Edward we all know and love." The sarcasm in his voice was not missed by Ed.

"Pipe down, you damn soggy match, I'm trying to get some shut eye here!" Ed promptly ignored the fierce replies his superior threw at him and sank in his seat, tossing his head back and closing his eyes. He needed to keep his body relaxed and his mind clear; that was the key to regulating his life from the primal desires he was often assaulted with nowadays.

He recalled Izumi Curtis' technique of meditation and decided to try it out for old times' sake.

He inhaled deeply, letting out a slow breath before repeating the action a few more times. Soon, his body was totally lax. The method to clear his mind was much more difficult than he anticipated but once he managed it, the rest came easy.

He even spent a good ten minutes in total relaxation; the gentle sway of the breeze comforting and the heat from the suns rays upon his face further pushing him into a state of total ease.

Until the white in his mind began to shape itself into the flimsy garment called a camisole and the mental image of Winry's laughing face piled up with an assortment of others that were less than decent, which made his body react in an embarrassing manner.

_Shit._

Ed's eyes snapped open and he stood abruptly, storming away from the congregation of people and ignoring his brothers calls and his ex-superiors bewildered gaze. He marched away from the park, shoved his hands into his jackets pocket, and brooded down the street. He didn't even pause to see if traffic was coming – he merely crossed the street and glared at anyone who got in his way.

He was in such a furious rampage that he didn't hear the voice calling out to him or the rapid footsteps that followed.

"Edward!" A hand gripped his arm and he violently tore it away. He was about to shout something nasty over his shoulder but the words died on his lips when he saw it was Winry, looking wind-blown, with concerned eyes searching into his own.

_Oh, damn it all hell, _Ed thought wearily. _Someone out there is conspiring against me. _Especially since he had the talent of being able to see from his peripheral. And right now his peripheral vision was especially helpful in seeing the way her chest heaved as her lungs ached for air.

"What's wrong?" she panted. "Why did you suddenly run off like that?"

"Nothing's wrong," Ed grunted. "Why the hell does everyone keep asking me that?" He continued down the street, slower than before to assure that Winry could keep up.

"Maybe because you look like you're going to pick a fight, genius?" Winry supplied, sounding annoyed. "Now, can you tell me what has you so worked up? You've been acting weird for the last few days, too."

Ed didn't respond. He highly doubted explaining to her the mechanics of basic human male needs and how this linked to her anatomy in response to his own body would be a conversation that would likely let him get out a few minor scratches and a dent or two in his cranium...

"Ed?" Her voice softened. He hated that, that meant his resolve to keep quiet would be weakened considerably. "Please tell me whats wrong?"

He parted his lips, readying an excuse to explain his behavior, when he caught her squeak. His body acted before his mind, turning to grab her before she fell face-first into the concrete. The instant his arm had wrapped around her shoulders, his other arm clutching her hip to stabilize her, it was a losing battle.

Her hand had gripped his shirt, leaning into him as she rolled her ankle. She had been wearing platform heels and they seemed to be making her unsteady on her feet, something which Ed made a mental note to hide so she couldn't wear them and henceforth trip and cause _this._

"I guess I'm not used to these shoes yet," Winry laughed nervously, cheeks pink. "I haven't worn heels for a while now."

Ed didn't respond. He was desperately trying to keep his hormones, disgusting thoughts, and crumbling will in check. It didn't seem to be working – the inner battle he was waging was beginning to see victor and he could very safely say it was _not _him.

"Ed..?"

He swallowed hard, muscles tense. "Right," he rasped. "Heels." He didn't let her go and she didn't try to leave his half-embrace. He had the bold thought to pull her closer to him but that would only give away his thoughts – the thoughts he'd tried to keep hidden for the past few weeks – and that was simply unacceptable for Ed.

Like hell were a couple of manly needs going to make him look like a total jerk-off.

He pulled back stiffly, pushing her away from him with careful measure. She noticed this and tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Ed merely avoided her gaze, not able to help lingering his eyes upon her rounded chest, and allowing himself one Bastard General thought before motioning Winry to follow him as he sped to the hotel they were lodging in for a while.

"Ed, you still haven't told me what's wrong with you!" Winry blew out a breath in frustration. "What is it? Can't you tell me? I thought you promised me you wouldn't keep any more secrets!"

Oh, that was dirty. Now she was bring out the promise card, was she? Edward glanced at her, at her irritated eyes, and clarified: "I said I wouldn't keep anymore _dangerous _secrets."

_Though this could be considered dangerous, _Ed thought seriously. _Very, very dangerous. _If tearing her clothes off could fit into such categories.

"Damn it, Ed!" Winry stopped in the middle of the hall of their hotel, setting her hands on her hips. Her sapphire eyes burned with indignation, highlighting her features and making Ed feel at a loss for words because his thoughts wouldn't stop bombarding him with suggestions that he was starting to actually take into consideration. "I'm sick of being left in the dark! What's wrong with you? I want an answer. Now."

_Ohshitohshitohshit, _were his panicked thoughts. He felt sweat drip down his temple; a swallow not helping push down the rising anxiety; and his eyes staring into hers weren't making things any better than they already were. They only heightened the heat welling inside him; the desire to see if those eyes would express something a little more smoldering; a little more dark.

_This is what happens when you deny yourself adolescent experimentation, _Ed deadpanned in his head. _It comes back to bite you in the ass when you're freaking nineteen._

"You want to know what's wrong with me?" He spat, sounding truly upset but not for the reasons she assumed.

"Yes!" She breathed, exasperated.

Ed's mouth dropped into a heavy scowl as he rummaged in his pocket for the key to his room. "There's one thing that's pissing me off and it includes you," he grumbled, overlooking the worried look on her face as he stuck the key into the hole. "That shirt."

Winry blinked. "What?"

"That shirt. I hate it," Ed further explained. "I hate your shirt." He turned the key and wiggled the knob a bit, knowing it jammed a little from how many times he had used this room during his younger years. He pushed the door open, leaving her with: "It makes it harder."

"Makes what harder?" She shoved her foot between the door and the frame, keeping it cracked open.

Ed breathed out sharply. "Piss off, Winry! It just makes it so fucking hard when you're strutting around shoving all _that _in my face!" He pushed her foot out with his own. "So never, ever, wear that goddamn shirt again!" He slammed the door in her face and proceeded to strip and hop into the shower to cool himself off in more ways than one.

To his horror and excitement, Winry wore a _skirt_ and the very same camisole the next day.

He was really starting to think this was all some cruel, overdue, punishment for all those times he called her an un-sexy, geeky, gear-head.

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_**A/N: **_This idea came from a real camisole. I had to bring a blank shirt to school for art class since our final project was to paint an image on it so I was freaking out because I didn't have a single blank T-shirt that I could use. I ended up buying one after searching the rack for a black shirt black enough to be Pride's shadows. Yes, people: I drew Pride on my shirt and it is AWESOME. I managed to pull off his shadows! I wish I could post up the picture on my profile; you'd all love it! I wonder why they haven't created a Pride T-shirt. I mean, its just his shadows, those aren't hard to do; I managed to do it, right?

Review!

_Scarlett._


	4. D is for Dictum

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**D **_is for **_D_**ictum

* * *

"That's wrong," Ed piped, looking at the paper over the shoulder of his brother. Winry sat only a chair away, seemingly immersed in her own world of bolts and screws when in reality she was hyper-aware of the two brothers beside her. "The theory states that in order to summon the proper amount of energy, you must be attuned to the...'Dragon's Pulse'?"

"I understand that, brother," came Al's annoyed voice, "but what I don't understand is what this 'Dragon's Pulse' thing is! I've tried having Mei reexplain it to me on various occasions but the language barrier keeps her from using a broader range of words to describe what it's suppose to _feel_ like!"

Edward frowned. "Well, when you put it that way..." He leaned down, finger underlining a sentence as he read silently. "I believe its just like the energy we use in Amestrian Alchemy. It's just another way of putting it – we use the energy hidden away within the earth's crust as a _whole_ to create an alchemical reaction but in Alkahestry all we need to do is separate the _whole_ into intricate lines of energy."

"Intricate lines?"

"Think of it as a pipe system," Ed explained, grabbing his pencil and creating a sloppy version of pipes upon the spare sheet of paper Al had been using to jot down notes. "In Alchemy, we summon the energy from the sink – ignoring the area of origination completely – but in Alkahestry, we have to trace every path of energy and connect it to another such as we would when connecting a pipe to another in order to keep the water flowing."

Al's eyes shown with realization. "Is this why Mei is able to create alchemical reactions from various points?"

Ed nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Correct. She merely finds a pathway and links them to another when she wants to create multiple reactions. As such, this is why Father was able to shut down our own alchemy: Mei uses the inner wiring of the earth to summon her energy while we use the entire area _above_ it."

Al was writing this down with a well-practiced hand, smiling brightly once he was done. "Brother, you're a genius! You didn't even talk to Mei and you already figured it out!"

Ed laughed sheepishly. "It's not hard – you just had some trouble picturing it."

Winry, however, was floored by Edward's deduction and explanation. He really _was_ a prodigy; even she understood it and that surprised her greatly since she only just knew the basics of Alchemy. But this Alkahestry seemed different than the alchemy Ed and Al practiced. She vaguely recalled Mei explaining some of this to her when the young Xingese girl grew exasperated with Al's denseness in the underground mines of Briggs.

"Does this mean that you could trace the energy within the human body?" Al murmured absently, which Winry accidentally replied with a: "No."

Two heads turned to her, one expectant and one curious.

Winry cleared her throat. "You can't use Alkahestry to trace energy within the human body because it would be impossible. Even drawing a circle on someone's flesh wouldn't work. The human body uses a totally different sort of energy than the earth."

"But its the same theory just applied differently, right?" Al pressed.

"Right..."

"Then doesn't that mean it _is _possible to trace the energy within a human body?" Ed added.

Winry felt cornered but she knew they couldn't, anyways. Mei had explained this to her when she'd asked about Alkahestry, out of sheer boredom since being underground held a limited amount of entertainment. "In theory, it should be possible, but so far no one has managed to do that. The electrical signals our brain sends out to our bodies wouldn't mesh well with alchemy – it'd most likely cause the person to suffer either cardiac arrest from the sudden halt or increase of energy or it could cause long-term effects which could become hazardous." She inwardly cheered. She had managed to stay on the same level of intellect as Ed and Al! She was so dazed by this realization the next few words escaped her.

"...regularize the amount of energy presented we might be able to do it, what do you think brother?"

"Winry has a point; it's difficult to control the amount of energy summoned, especially on an organism as delicate as the human." Ed hummed in thought. "I guess no one has tried it yet in fear of the repercussions."

Al looked contemplative. "Then how is it Alkahestry is able to _heal _people?"

"That's easy, it's because you're using a medium." Winry went back to her work, as the bothers blinked.

"Huh?" Ed and Al said in unison.

"Well, the energy passes through that circle thing first before you transfer it into the human body. By then most of its capacity has decreased. Plus, you're only targeting a specific, _external_, area of the body."

"But it's still the same theory!" Alphonse blew out a breath of frustration. "We _can _use Alkahestry on the human body!"

"Using the transmutation circle to regulate the flow..." Ed murmured in thought. "It makes sense. Pouring a huge amount of energy into a human body would only induce trauma. I suppose that's why Medics only repair epidermal injuries rather than internal; internal is more complicated and risky. And, with the law of equivalent exchange still in order, reparation is nearly impossible unless we had matter to use.. plus, there's also the problem in using said matter when the injury is _inside _and the matter is _outside.._."

"But that doesn't mean it isn't _possible_!" Alphonse persisted.

"You're right, it doesn't," Ed agreed. "It's just too risky to try, especially if the person is too wounded to tough out the influx of alchemical energy. The human body is composed of tiny, microscopic, pathways. Just think of the devastation it would wreck if you accidentally took the wrong pathway and poured the energy into the wrong area while trying to use the remaining tissue around said wound for material."

Alphonse quieted, mulling this over, while Winry slowly went back to her work, brain hurting a little. But she was happy she was at least able to understand this. Alkahestry held a lot of theories regarding the human body – basic biology – so understanding this was a piece of cake for her until they began to get into real alchemy, then all understanding flew out the window.

"By the way, where did you learn about Alkahestry, Win?" Ed asked, curiously.

"Mei taught me some while we were at Briggs," Winry revealed. "She got tired of explaining this over and over again to Al."

"Hey! It's not my fault I didn't get it!" Al defended, feebly.

"Anyways, I was a better student than he ever was; most of it is basic alchemy and deals a lot with biology so it was easy to get."

"You know the basics of alchemy?" Ed asked, brows up in surprise.

"Duh," Winry scoffed. "You two never shut up about it when we were kids! It's not a wonder I know more about this geeky subject than I wanna'!"

"Shut up, it's not like Automail is any different than alchemy!"

"Automail and Alchemy are two very different things, Edward," Winry stated a matter-of-factly. "For one, Automail isn't freaky like Alchemy is!"

"Freaky? You're creating autonomous, sensory-capable, prosthesis and you're calling _us _freaks?" Ed gawked, as Winry huffed.

"It's not like someone like _you _would understand." She stuck her nose in the air. "Automail is a revolutionary discovery that will continue to progress throughout the years until it is a near perfect art and every waking moment spent on _my_ designs is helping!"

"It's the same for alchemy, you know!" Ed argued. "We might even be able to honestly recreate a human body without the unorthodox usage of the Philosopher's Stone!"

"Keyword: might," Winry grinned slyly.

Ed pinked, eyes narrowing in annoyance. "There are so many things alchemy is capable of that it might not even be a surprise if we replace Automail."

"Replace!" Winry squawked, eyes wide.

"Yes. If we ever managed to recreate a human body without the means of using a Philosopher's Stone, we'll no doubt be able to recreate singular limbs." Ed explained as if it were the most obvious thing on earth. "Automail wouldn't be needed anymore if this happened."

Winry stared, mouth dropped and looking mortally offended. "Are you calling Automail _a waste of time_!"

Ed stiffened, knowing well enough that the look of sheer rage on her face was true and not halfhearted. "N-No! I'm just explaining to you what might happen if someone discovers—OW!" He clutched his head, stumbling back as Winry lowered her arm and placed the wrench back in her pocket.

"You are unbelievable Edward Elric!" Winry roared, face pink with exertion. "How can you even _say_ automail is a waste of time when your leg is automail! UGH!" She gathered up her things without a second thought and thundered into the living room and up the stairs, leaving Al to quietly look at his brother, who rubbed the sore spot above his eye gingerly.

"Brother, why did you have to tell her that?" he asked quietly.

"Because she was pissing me off with the whole 'freak-show' thing," Ed grumbled, wincing when he touched the sore spot too hard. "Alchemy isn't a type of magic trick: it's science."

"She was just joking."

"Well, she took it too far," he mumbled.

"You did too," Al countered. "You didn't have to tell her that automail might go completely extinct if alchemy actually manages to reach that far."

"It wouldn't be possible anyways," Ed muttered, eyes downcast in petulance. "To create a human out of simple elements from the local market isn't going to define it as 'mortal'. What makes a human, human is the soul which, as far as we know, is something only Truth know's what its composed of."

"Then why did you have to tell Winry we will find someway to create humans?"

"'Cause I got pissed off..."

"And what did I tell you to do when you get mad?"

"To count to ten in my head..."

"And if that doesn't work?"

Ed sighed. "Change the topic—I know, Al! Jeez, you've drilled this into my brain! I get it!"

"Then how come you don't do it?" Al asked, with that ever-expanding patience of his.

"Don't wanna'..."

"Go apologize, Ed," Al ordered firmly. "She really loves automail. Almost as much as you love alchemy and it wouldn't feel nice if someone told you that automail might take over alchemy, would it?"

"But it never _will _so..." Ed muttered under his breath, raising his hands in peace at Al's sharp look. "Okay! Fine! I'll go say sorry. But I'm not going to be happy about it," he added, heading up the stairs as Al sighed and returned to his studies.

Honestly, if Ed didn't stop being such a jerk to Winry then how would they _ever _realize their feelings for one another?

* * *

**A/N: **That whole explaination about Alkahestry and Alchemy, don't take it too seriously. I know there are many flaws and loopholes and its to be expected since I can't clear up everything in one conversation. But that was my basic understanding. I'm aware that I tweaked some things to make it sound like it made sense. Your understanding of Xingese Alchemy might be different but remember: its not real xD No matter how much I wish Alchemy did exist...

Review!

_Scarlett._


	5. E is for Endurance

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**E **_is for **_E_**ndurance

* * *

Ever since he had been twelve she had watched him, but she'd say it started much younger than that.

The day they had prepped him for automail installation had been the first day in her twelve years of life that she had seen him endure. His endurance was nothing she had ever seen before, as he withstood the pain of nerve attachment and further withstood the pain in his leg after they had finished with his arm without a single scream.

It had been bloody and gruesome– a whole two days of surgical procedures she took part in in order to give him a leg to walk with and an arm to work with.

After a few weeks of fidgety recuperation, he had been up on his feet, testing out his new leg with tentative steps until he got the hang of it. She had been there to see it all: he endured the humiliation of having her guide him whenever he fell, endured the pain of walking, endured the stretching of skin; the sharp stabs of pain from his snipped nerves, endured trying to move his toes, trying to roll his new ankle, trying to walk for more than five steps at a time.

He had given himself one year of recovery time.

And he had done it.

His determination and stubborn personality had pulled through.

She had seen him rehabilitate himself in the most brutal way: sparing with a brother entrapped in a 200 pound suit of armor and who had yet to learn how to control his strength.

He had endured every fall, every scrape, every aching muscle, and she had been there to see it all.

And every time he came back to her for repairs, for her to do her magic and create him another durable, working, limb, she had seen him endure the pain of reattachment with an iron stomach. He didn't flinch, didn't even grunt in the beginning. It had only been recently that he'd allowed himself a groan here, a wince here, or even a full out complain on how attachment was a troublesome and painful thing to endure.

But he still did it.

He still endured.

"This is nothing. Alphonse can't sleep, he can't eat, he can't even feel the wind brush his skin," he had said once, when she asked why he endured so much. "I can't whine about something as petty as this when my brother is nothing more than a suit of unfeeling metal!"

They had been truthful words. They had been memorable and honorable words for someone so young.

Edward had aged before his due time; he had become too wise, too experienced, for someone that was thirteen years old.

It only grew worse when he was sixteen, seventeen, and by eighteen he had the experience and knowledge of a fifty year old man.

And he had endured it all for the sake of his little brother; all to see his sibling's eyes light up with delight and to see him smile one more time.

Some would say this was just asking for disaster, as it had been the same longing to see their mother's kind face one last time that had caught them in such a tangle in the first place.

But Winry always thought it was something attainable.

The sheer notion of bringing back the deceased was laughable at worst, sympathetic at best, but the theory of restoring ones body, which was still technically alive somewhere out in the great abyss of Truth because of the link it had with another one of its blood, was something honestly possible.

It was why she worked so hard to refine her work; so hard to become the best mechanic the country had ever seen. She had trained under the second best, had watched the best of the best with sharp eyes, and had practiced over and over again in order to hone her skills.

She had endured sleepless nights, grueling days when she just wanted to give up and stop, harsh criticism, and even a few burns and scratches and broken bones, all because she knew Edward's aspiration to restore his brothers body was so close he could taste it.

All because she knew that it was possible and henceforth only a matter of time.

That was why the day she had awoken to a beautiful horizon and the pleasing chill of the morning air, she knew something had changed. She had thrown off her duvet and stretched her hands above her head as usual. She had padded downstairs after relieving herself and had started brewing her habitual morning coffee to start off the new day.

He grandmother didn't wake until at least ten in the morning.

She awoke at seven each day, to prep for another day full of customers, blue-print working, and an automail surgery due for the afternoon.

She had only taken one drink of her black coffee when someone knocked on the door. She'd walked forward, wondering who was at the door at such an early hour. They usually received customers later on, after Pinako was awake, so when she opened the door she was both shocked and thrilled to see Edward's smiling face.

"Ed!" She'd gasped, and some shifting behind him had caught her eye. She stared at the boy with the cropped hair that looked recently cut and too-thin face. The boy was skeletal: all bones and no meat, and it took her a full thirty seconds to match the boys face with the one she last remembered belonged to a ten year old Alphonse Elric.

"A-Alphonse?" she whispered. She didn't know she had been crying until Al's hesitant face became a blur. All his enduring, all the perseverance, all the angst and pain, the shedding of innocence and fitting of adulthood, had been worth it, as Al smiled brightly back at her "You're...back. Ed, you did it!" She laughed, running her fingers through her sleep-tousled hair. "You did it! You did it! He's back!"

She slumped against the door frame in shock, grinning so madly yet crying like a baby. She wiped her runny nose, looking at Ed, who was grinning at her. He pointed a finger at her face and she touched it in confusion, not understanding until he shouted:

"I told I'd make you cry tears of joy!" He laughed and Al nodded enthusiastically, telling her something about his older brother always keeping his promises.

She motioned them inside and ruffled Al's hair, eventually hugging the life out of him and mumbling something about him being too skinny.

"I'll have an apple pie ready for you two in no time!" she grinned, wiping away some excess tears. She heard her granny hobble downstairs, grumbling about noisy guests, and she walked into the kitchen despite the suddenly emotional Pinako Rockbell in the living room, who hugged Alphonse so tightly even he wondered just how someone her age could be so strong.

Winry tied an apron over her black tank top and grabbed a bowl of apples, noticing Edward was leaning casually against the counter beside her, munching on an apple.

"Don't do that!" She complained, pointing at his apple. "It beats the whole idea of baking an apple pie, you know! After I'm done with this, I'll check your automail! Ugh, I really hope your arm isn't so banged up... something tells me it is..." she grumbled, and looked at his hand. She did a double take, staring at his right _flesh_ hand. If she wasn't mistaken...that was his automail hand...wasn't it?

"N-no way..." she whispered, raising her eyes to his sparkling gold ones. "You're arm...?"

"Is back where it's suppose to be!" Ed finished, holding out a perfectly normal right hand. It was healthy and _real_ and she was sure she was going to burst into happy tears again. Instead, she reached forward and caught his hand with her own, holding it and feeling its warmth.

It was real all right.

It felt a little soft compared to his left hand but she supposed that was from years of it being on hold in some world beyond this one.

"I can't believe it! I didn't think you'd actually get your arm back!"

Ed's eyes darkened a little but he nodded in agreement. She made a mental note to ask him about this later, when all the excitement had passed.

Right now there was only one thing she wanted to do.

She pulled him into her arms, squeezing his hand in her own as she did.

He stiffened, taken aback by the contact.

She whispered into his ear: "I knew you'd do it. Welcome back."

He had endured so many years of pain and sweat and tears.

It was almost his right to be able to fix the errors of his ways.

* * *

_**A/N: **_Eh, I didn't really like this one but the letter prompt was Endurance so what can I do? (Yes, I don't create these letter-prompts myself – I ask people to give me a random word xD Excdept for the first letter, that one I chose.)

Please review!

_Scarlett._


	6. F is for Foreplay

_**WARNING: **_THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL DOES RANK **M** FOR **MATURE**. IF YOU _DO NOT_ READ _LIME _THEN PLEASE _DO NOT READ _THE FOLLOWING ONE-SHOT!

* * *

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**F **_is for **_F_**oreplay

* * *

_His mouth was hot against her own; body crushing her against the kitchen counter. He spread her arms out, letting his fingers twine with her own as she arched up against him when he caught her bottom lip in a bruising bite._

_His chest was broad and strong, just as she had expected it to be, and it made the heat pooling in her abdomen only boil when he pried her mouth open with his tongue. The action was intimate, far more intimate that she had originally thought it would be, and the invasion was as pleasant as it was scary. _

"Hey, Winry, are you okay?"

_It was pleasant for obvious reasons she expressed in throaty moans._

_It was scary because this was a huge leap in their relationship. _

_But she found she didn't care. She threw caution to the wind and shoved forward, slamming him against the island behind him. He grunted, never breaking their liplock, and flipped them around so he was on top of her again. His fingers hooked on her gray jumpsuit, pulling the pants low on her hips as they scorched one another with their passion._

"Winry? Hey, Winry!"

_He had always been a man of action._

_And as their mouths continued to crash into one another, air becoming a pest, she felt his hands start to tug her tube top down. He tore the spandex material when he couldn't slid it up he rbody, groaning into her mouth when he felt her swelling breasts rub against—_

"WINRY!"

Winry slammed back into reality, the dream evaporating and leaving behind the sensory touches of his hands. She swallowed down her nerves, flashing her eyes to Edward, who sat on an armchair with a book splayed on his lap.

He looked annoyed.

She was too breathless to really say something about it.

"Are you alright? You spaced out for a while..."

"Yeah," Winry shook her head of his hot mouth and roaming hands. "Yeah, I'm fine." She stood up and flattened her skirt. She noticed her hands were shaky and made a keen effort to keep them still. "I'm going to get a glass of water, you want anything?"

"Some leftovers would be nice."

"You have two legs; go get them yourself."

"What the hell? You just asked me if I wanted anything!"

"Yeah, like juice...or milk."

"Don't you _dare _go there, Winry..."

"Whatever...I'll heat up some leftover spaghetti for you."

She would resume this dream later, under the comforts of her sheets and in the ink darkness of her room, where obnoxious alchemists like him couldn't interrupt her.

* * *

**A/N: **Its not that hardcore because I reread it six times and fixed it. It was _way _more detailed before. I had to make it a soft M because I know people will be curious and read it anyway, so I might as well cramp it near the T rating to keep it safe. I have no clue what I was thinking of except that when I wrote this the final chapter of FMA had come out and I'd reread the Ed/Win moment like 20 times...

I loved writing this one because it happened to a friend of mine. Only she wasn't having dirty thoughts, she was dreaming up some other random crap.

She tripped, too.

Heh. Minor alterations have been made in order to prevent Winry from looking like a total idiot.

Oh, ps, in my head, this DOES count as foreplay -grin-

Review!

_Scarlett._


	7. G is for God

**Warning: **this one-shot contains religious themes some might find offensive.

**_Alphabetum_  
by. **_Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**G **_is for **_G_**od

* * *

He didn't believe in unsubstantial things like God.

He would always allow a small knowing smirk to crawl on his face whenever he caught the conversations of faith and miracles.

The last thing you would do is try to convince him to lend his time and self to some hoax of a religion, as he'd loftily say. He'd most likely laugh in your face and call you a pitiful follower before he broke your spirit with his words; all strung together so perfectly and reasonably that you would be a true fool not to be swayed by them even slightly.

She had never been a very religious person and she would blame this on her lack-of-parents. Her grandmother had once let it slip that her mother had been a very religious person; she even went to church every week to express her faith. She believed in prayer and God and miracles and all those good things that helped you along the paved road of life. Her father hadn't been religious, so Pinako said, as the old woman herself hadn't raised him as such, but Winry had a feeling that he was, too, even _if_ he swung from faith to emptiness depending on the phase in his life.

But that was something at least, right?

"Tch, let's go," Edward hauled himself up, an empty cup of tea in his hands. She sipped her own cup and made no motion to move.

Ed frowned. "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go."

"Why? We just got here," she replied. She saw his eyes flicker to the side very slightly, enough to tell her that the group of people behind them – the people who were enthusiastically speaking of some Leto God – was the sole reason Edward wanted to leave the calm of the tea shop. "Sit down Ed; we'll leave in a few minutes. Let me just finish my tea."

"Fine! Whatever." He sat back down, not looking happy about it, and she leaned back in her chair with a slightly smug smile.

He returned it with a glower.

Her ears caught the whispers of faith from behind her, all spoken so adoringly and admiringly, and she wondered why Edward would never let himself fall into such a state. Was it really because he was a scientist through and through? Because he needed to see things in order to believe them? He had been exposed to so many horrors, so many unbelievable and impossible things, why would believing in God be any different?

"How come..." she began softly, and he looked up. His eyes always had a way of piercing through you; of knowing what you were going to say before you actually did. This was how they gazed at her in that moment: all-knowing, weary, and waiting. The words stuck in her throat, as the congregation of people behind her rose their whispers to shouts.

She had the impulse to look back and see if this was true when the volume became a small buzz once more.

She was imagining things.

She breathed in.

It was just a question and Edward thrived on questions and answers; surely he'd understand her curiosity, right?

She hoped so.

"How come you don't...believe in God?" she asked, deliberately, and his expression didn't change one bit. His metal finger touched the rim of his cup, contemplatively, and he didn't speak for another minute.

"God is such a broad term," he said finally, cupping his hand around the cup. "It can mean many things. It could mean the ultimate being in this universe; it could mean a single, powerful, entity which rules over everything; it could mean the Sun God, Leto," his eyes flashed to the side again, to the people behind her that have quieted, and he continued: "I prefer the term 'Truth'."

"Truth?" she repeated, and he nodded.

"Truth is not vague or amorphous: it just _is_," he explained calmly. "It's Truth. It's whatever you want to call it: all, one, the universe, the world, space, the all-knowing being..." He closed his eyes, pieces of It's grin flashing behind his lids. "...It's also you and it's me."

Winry started when his eye's flew open to reveal _knowing_.

A terrible knowing.

It was there, drowned within the ringlets of gold; the glint that belied the truth of truths.

He knew.

He knew, and he was very aware of a being that was above them; something that was completely and utterly inhuman and powerful.

Something that could classify as a 'God'.

Something that looked down upon them with disdain and disgust; interest and amusement.

And how could he not know, she realized with widening eyes, he had met this limitless being at the tender age of eleven and it had taken more than she could have ever imagined.

A mother.

An arm and a leg.

A brother.

Innocence.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked, tracing the rim of the cup again. His eyes no longer flamed with the knowledge that scared her. They reverted to the dull, bored, glint that was Edward; the boy with the edge of arrogance and the bountiful sarcasm; the kid with the short-temper and a mouth too big on him.

"Y-Yeah," she nodded, dropping her gaze. "Yes, it does. Thank you..."

"Good!" His voice became casual and flighty; the voice of a traveler. "Then lets go! Alphonse is stuck with Colonel Bastard and I don't want to leave him in his corruption any longer than necessary!"

Winry smiled, relieved her question hadn't caused any unsightly repercussions. She drank her remaining tea and set the cup down. "Since you're so impatient, let's go. Let me just pay—"

As if he had been waiting for this all along, his hand slammed down upon the table. The money laid out, she was about to protest about being able to pay for her own things when he grabbed her wrist and pointed impatiently to his pocket watch. "Hurry _up_! I bet that bastard is telling Alphonse a bunch of bullshit!"

"He is not!" Winry scoffed, mentally noting she'd come back to this particular subject later. "Colonel Mustang isn't as bad as you make him out to be, you know."

"Oh, no, he's worse than what I make him out to be," Edward agreed solemnly, ignoring her exasperated look. "C'mon!"

"Coming! Coming!" she smiled, letting him drag her out of the small tea house. They had only gone to retrieve some documents the Colonel needed from the Central Branch Library and along the way she had the idea of stopping for a cup of tea before going back to HQ. But somehow this had prompted her controversial question.

She wondered if this had been her intention all along, as Edward walked purposefully with her in tow.

She glanced over her shoulder, to the group of religious believers that had stopped their conversation to listen to the boy with the gold hair and equally gold eyes.

They watched them leave with something close to thoughtfulness and she wondered if his words had changed their views on this God of theirs even slightly.

The truth was Edward _did _believe in God, whether he admitted it or not; no matter how irrational or crude or sadistic this God was, he really did believe in it.

His God just happened to be The Truth, translated to whatever knowledge this world held and whatever experiences it would let him live through in order to be one step closer to that which was all and nothing; that which was her and him and everything in between.


	8. H is for Housewife

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**H **_is for **_H_**ousewife

* * *

"N-no! Wait, Teach—OUCH! OKAY! I GIVE!" Edward dodged another blow, face drawn in pure terror, as he fought against his old alchemy teacher Izumi Curtis. Her own face was drawn in sheer rage and she held an ostentatiously sculpted spear in her iron grasp. The tip of the spear glinted menacingly, as she rose it above her head as if to strike down some poor fish with a roar of rage.

"FIGHT BACK MY STUPID PUPIL!" she bellowed, throwing the spear. Edward clapped his hands together and transformed his metal arm into something sharp and equally lethal as her spear. The strong iron managed to break the tip of her spear into nothing more than a blunt edge and he twirled it in his fingers before transforming her weapon into something he could use.

It became a sword, just as flashy as her spear, and he threw it at her with deadly accuracy. She caught it easily enough, twirling it once before gripping it tightly in her hand.

"It's nice to know you learned something under my teaching," she smirked.

"Yeah, yeah," he panted, raising his arm to use as a shield. "Now come at me, Teacher!"

Her eyes narrowed, teeth grinding together in annoyance. "I am not your teacher any longer!" She rushed forward, aiming a punch which he dodged with a flip. She kicked her leg up, he pushed it away; she aimed two calculated blows matched with a kick.

He managed to shove away her blows but couldn't stop the kick, which collided with his cheek and sent him flying to the wall.

He fell in a heap of limbs, groaning as his head spun from the attack. He was sure his cheek would have a nasty bruise and he would be sore tomorrow but he forced himself up, left eye closed as he felt a drip of blood trickle down.

"Is this it?" she mocked. "All of those years and this is all you can do?"

"I don't even know why I'm fighting you," Edward spat out blood. "What the hell does this have to do with Winry?"

"You're going to prove yourself, of course," Izumi chirped, lips curling into a sinister grin. "So come at me, Edward, and prove to me you deserve this girl!" She pointed at Winry, who stood beside Alphonse and Sig, looking frozen as she slowly digested that Edward had been _flung _to the wall and he was _bleeding _and most likely _hurt_.

"Heh," Ed wiped the blood away from his forehead. "Fine, but just so you know, this is completely unnecessary!"

"It might be," Izumi thought aloud. "But it'll also help prove just how strong you've grown all by yourself, right?"

"I don't need to fight some _housewife _to know just how strong I am!" Ed shouted. In a flash, he was running to her. She just saw a gold blur, which impressed her, but still managed to block several blows that would have the most experienced fighter grunting. She pivoted on her heel, blocking a punch, and blocked another kick with her forearm.

"There we go!" Izumi laughed. "That's more like it!"

Edward was too concentrated in the battle to notice Winry's wide and gawking eyes. The fluid execution of movements from him was as enthralling as it was nail-biting – with every kick and punch, the opposition delivered her own set of equally powerful blows. They moved steadily across the expanse of the front of Izumi's house and the street, both anticipating each others movements and making blink-quick decisions for a counter-blow.

"Hit her shoulder, Ed!" Al yelled, his honey brown eyes glistening with excitement. Edward cast him a brief look of approval and flipped back when she got too close, bending to avoid a sharp prick on one of his tenketsu points and delivering a sharp blow of his own. Ed, knowing his master recovered too quickly, rolled out of the way and swung his leg out, effectively tripping his master but not enough for her to be successfully shut down.

"That's new," Izumi murmured, jumping back and falling into stance.

Edward mimicked her, muscles taut and ready. His gold eyes read the twitch of the muscle on her leg and he moved before she could attack him. However, he had forgotten just how flexible his master could be, as she delivered a perfect round-house kick which he countered with his arm, grunting with the force of her kick.

He wrapped his hand around her ankle, pulling her forward and to the side, and spinning to deliver his own round-house kick.

She copied his counterattack and, to his dismay, she shoved his foot to the side and used the momentum to grab his shirt and spin him around to her, holding him in an ultimate headlock without a second spared.

She grinned.

"Oh, no!" Al mourned his brother, who was struggling to break free of the lock his master had him in. "That's impossible to break! Brother's as good as done!"

Winry calculating stared at the woman who had her arms locked around his neck, her fingers entwined tightly and offering no source of escape. It certainly looked unbreakable, however...

"Ed!" She yelled. "Hurry, hook your foot around her ankle and fall to the side!"

Ed hesitated for a moment before taking her advice, hooking his foot around her ankle only to be shoved on his knees with a hoot of victory.

"Beg for mercy, Eddy-boy!" Izumi grinned.

"Shut up and let me go, master!" Ed shouted over his shoulder.

"Hey!" she frowned, remembering a very important fact both had forgotten due to the enticement of battle. "I'm not your master anymore, brat, so call me by my name! How many times must I tell you this before you get it?"

"Let me go!" He howled, using his arm to try and wedge himself out of her grip. Izumi smirked and let him go easily, causing him to fall forward and face-plant on the ground. He recovered quickly enough, sending a glare over his shoulder at his smug ex-teacher. "That was a cheap move."

"There are no cheap moves in a fight, Edward," Izumi smirked slyly. "I thought I taught you better, shrimp."

"Goddamn! I'm five foot eight! _Five foot eight! _Do you know what the means? It means I'm taller than the average Amestrian citizen—"

"Yeah, yeah, pipe down," Izumi yawned, bristling Edward further. She directed her gaze to Winry, who stood looking mildly disappointed at Ed's loss. "Hey, you had something going there. What did you have in mind?"

"The ultimate headlock isn't impossible to break free from," Winry explained, sounding confident. "I've broken out of it more times than I could count."

"Shut up you liar!" Ed snapped accusingly. "I've tried everything and I can't break free from it! Like hell can you!"

Winry cast him a dirty look and directed her gaze to a contemplative Izumi. She beckoned her with her finger and Winry slowly approached her. Once she stood in front of her, Izumi instructed: "Alright, teach me how to break free of this headlock."

"No problem," she beamed, shooting a look of irritation at Ed, who watched with wary eyes. Izumi caught her in the lock, a tight lock, Winry surmised, and said: "Try to escape...now."

Winry stayed very still and, in a flash, hooked her foot professionally around her ankle, making it give as she had not expected the girl to do it so strongly. Not giving her a moment to react, Winry threw her head back and, with a sharp jerk to the side, tipped both of them over sideways, landing atop of Izumi roughly and rolling out of the way; fluidly getting on her feet and into a defensive stance.

Izumi lay on the ground on her back, wide-eyed and impressed, and Ed's jaw nearly hit the floor in incredulity.

Alphonse looked awe-struck and even Sig looked shocked beyond belief.

"D...did she just beat teacher?" Ed asked numbly.

"I..I think...she did, brother," Al replied faintly, face pale with the realization.

Winry blinked at both of them, confused. "What's wrong with you two? You look like you've seen ghosts."

"We will be soon..." Ed mumbled, gulping when Izumi stood up and dusted herself. He couldn't see her expression but the tense rise of her shoulders was enough to warn him of imminent danger. He strode forward automatically, standing beside the confused girl, and prepared himself for an attack of some sort.

He couldn't deliberately put Winry in danger – even if he was pissing his pants by acting so tough.

He cursed his pride and overprotective nature.

But instead of the violent outburst he expected, Izumi's tense shoulders were due to laughter. The woman threw her head back, a bright smile on her pretty face, and her black eyes glittered with mirth. She stepped forward and clapped a hand on Winry's shoulder, ignoring Ed's flinch to step between them, and boomed: "That was spectacular! It's gratifying to know that Edward can at least do one thing right!"

"Hey!" he snapped at the underlying insult.

"You really are something; I haven't had a single person break from that hold in years," Izumi grinned. "I knew there were people who could break it but I didn't think there was a proven way to do it!"

"Well, its pretty obvious if you think about it," Winry mumbled, cheeks pink from the compliments. "The ankle is one of many weakest parts in the human body. It gives in easily with any slight pressure, using that knowledge and applying it to a headlock, you can assume that, by tripping your opponent, you can regain the upper hand and win the fight."

Izumi stared before launching forward, pulling Winry into her chest. The girl gasped, nestled between the older woman's chest, and she shot a desperate look at Ed, who was having trouble holding in a grin because of his teachers enthusiastic reply. "You're simply the most adorable thing I have ever met! Ed, I approve!" Her eyes darkened. "But you aren't off the hook yet, idiot."

Winry laughed, embarrassed by the attention, and was released from the bear-crushing embrace with a happy smile. She felt a little woozy and it was only enhanced when she felt another pair, a stronger and broader pair, of arms encircle her and crush her to their chest from behind.

"Ed!" she whined, cheeks going red from the display of affection.

"I can't believe you beat her!" Ed hooted excitedly. "Al and I haven't been able to beat her and we've trained with her for years! Holy shit, Win, that was fucking awesome! You gotta' teach me that move sometime!"

"Edward, language!" Izumi snapped.

Ed paid no heed to her, he buried his nose in Winry's blond hair as she fit into his arms. She giggled, gripping the arms locked around her waist. She wanted to admit that he had been just as spectacular – with his unbelievable flexibility, speed, and strength – but she was content being praised like a queen and decided, just this once, being the one who's ego was stroked wasn't so bad after all.

Maybe that was why Ed always scoured for opportunities to show off his skills.

It felt pretty damn good.

* * *

_**A/N: **_How do I know this works? Because I was caught in an ultimate headlock by a friend of mine and I struggled to break it to no avail. I ended up using my friends advice and tripped my opponent, although I failed like Ed because I hesitated too long. But it technically _does _work if you do it right and use every crucial second.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	9. I is for Inked

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**I **_is for **I**nked

* * *

"Hey, Ed, so when are you going to get a tattoo?"

Whatever drink he had in his mouth was promptly spit out. Edward snapped his head up to Havoc, who was trying to light the cigarette hanging off his lips in vain. He shook the lighter and cursed softly, throwing it over his shoulder and grumbling about bad manufacturing.

"T-tattoo?" Ed stammered, trying to wrap his head around the whole concept of _ink _on his _body._ "Why the hell would I do that?"

Havoc blinked. "Oh, so you're not going to get a tattoo?"

"Of course not! I have no need to get one and...aren't tattoo's created using needles?" he added, testily.

Havoc nodded, not seeing where this was going. "Yeah, why?"

"Nope, forget it," Ed deadpanned, going back to his lunch. Jean Havoc had been appointed watch-duty over the Full Metal Alchemist for various reasons. One of them being the hits pointed to his head after the death of King Bradley. There were still Bradley supporters lurking undercover and Mustang did not want to risk sending the seventeen year boy out without at least one trained military operative looking out for him.

Even if this military operative was on-hold and still in a wheelchair...

Havoc frowned. "Come on, Ed! Tattoo's symbolize a man's strife! I don't know a single person in the military who doesn't have at least one war tattoo!"

"Hawkeye?"

"She's got one."

Ed's brows shot up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, I heard she got one on her back or something." he pointed to his back, cigarette still dangling off his lips. Edward looked at the stick for a moment before digging into his pocket and, before Jean could ask, took out a lighter and lit the cigarette for him.

Havoc blinked, then grinned. "Takin' up my hobby, FM?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Ed scoffed, returning the lighter to its rightful place. "Smoking is disgusting and it deteriorates your lungs faster than you could count. The only reason I own a lighter is because it comes in handy sometimes. You never know when the Colonel is gonna' be useless," he added with a small smirk.

"Huh," Havoc nodded in approval, drawing a breath. "You really are a smart kid." He blew out smoke, causing Ed to wrinkle his nose. "But it relieves the stress, you know? You should know all about stress – more than half your life has been composed of it!" He set his cigarette in between his fingers and stretched out his arms above his head.

"Whatever," Edward mumbled back, a small frown marring his face. "So...about military tattoo's? What's the whole point of them?"

"What's the whole point of them?" Havoc repeated, as if it were most unbelievable thing he had heard in a while. It probably was, Ed surmised. "They tell stories, that's the whole point of them! Every man and woman who has served under the State Military has been left with images and wounds that will haunt them forever...and many of those choose to go under the needle and permanently ink themselves with a testimony of their service, suffering, and pride." Havoc pointed to a regular soldier patrolling the street with another. "See him? The one with the chestnut brown hair?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"On his shoulder he's got a dog tag. You normally get that tattoo before deployment; he just happened to be sent for a tour in Ishval a couple of years back. The guy next to him has a different one – he's actually got both of his arms up to the neck inked with camouflage."

"He has camouflage patterns?" Ed asked in shock, and Havoc nodded to clarify.

"Right."

Edward glanced down at his empty plate, thoughtfully, before looking up again. "Do you have a tattoo, Lieutenant?"

Havoc looked a little surprised but he nodded anyway, grinning as he stated: "Of course I do!" He shrugged off his blue jacket and rose his arm, pointing to his triceps where Ed could see the colored ink stark against the pale of his flesh. It was an image of a rabid dog smoking what seemed to be a cigar, much to his amusement, with various words set around it. The words themselves were a little hard to read, given the scratch-like font, but Edward could make out 'hostility' and 'respect' inked onto the tag the dog had around its neck with a chain.

"It's a...dog?" Ed blinked.

"Yeah, if you'd been paying attention," Havoc began, shrugging on his jacket again, "you'd know that the Amestris State Military has been compared to dogs, given our aggressive and savage nature out on the battle field."

"I've heard of that," Ed murmured, recalling several rumors regarding such comments. He'd mostly let them pass over his head, given that he frankly didn't care and he had bigger issues to attend do, but now that he thought about it... "Then why prove them right by inscribing that image on your arm?"

"Because it's true," Havoc blew out another breath of smoke. "We fight like dogs. But what they don't seem to understand is the necessity of such brutality. Kid, do you think anyone would survive out there without unleashing their monstrous side? Do you really think you could go out there, in a full-blown war, loaded guns and all, and _not _kill at least one person?" Havoc waited for an answer but Edward only lowered his eyes. He knew better than to counter-argue such questions – he had enough experience to know it was nearly impossible to come out victor in this conversation under such circumstances. "We fight like dogs. We'd tear each other apart if it meant survival," he chuckled bitterly. "A little nasty, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it sounds rough," Ed agreed, emptily, knowing how true this was. He was still instated as a State Alchemist although he had lost his alchemy. He was just waiting to be drafted into war... "I suppose I could understand why you would get a commemorative tattoo."

"What about you, seriously?" Havoc asked, again, dismissing the grim topic. "You've been through so much shit I can't believe you haven't been pushed into some mental institution."

Ed's brow twitched. "Gee, thanks, Lieutenant," he replied, sarcastically.

Havoc only shrugged helplessly. "You can't blame me for thinking so."

"I don't know," Ed sighed in defeat. "If I ever did get a tattoo, I wouldn't even know where to start. I suppose I could get the Flamel symbol..."

"Flame what?"

"_Flamel _symbol, it belonged one of the first—"

"Oh, that thing on Alphonse's shoulder back when he was still in the armor?" Havoc cut in, smiling when Ed nodded wearily. "That would be cool, considering your brother wouldn't wear it on his real body, right? He'd freak out at the hint of getting a tattoo—this is why I like you, Ed." he added, spontaneously.

"Because I'm willing to get a tattoo?" he said, confused.

"Nope, 'cause you're easy going, my man!" Havoc clapped his lower back roughly, shoving Ed forward in his seat. The boy directed vexed eyes to him for a moment before shoving his hand away, scoffing at the older man's mirthful eyes.

The only reason he wasn't beating his ass up was because he was in a wheelchair...

"If you do, get it right here," he pointed to the empty space near his hip bone. "It'd be the first thing that lucky woman of yours see's when you fuck—"

"Thank you for the lunch, Lieutenant!" Ed shouted over the profane comment, sliding off the chair and finishing his drink in one gulp. "I think I can take care of myself from here on in," Ed jammed his hands into his pockets, as Havoc watched the boy look elsewhere to avoid him catching the hue of red on his cheeks.

It was adorable, how much of a virgin the kid was.

"Let's go then!" Havoc beamed, dragging him by the collar as he wheeled onto the sidewalk. "Off to the tattoo parlor!"

"What the hell? I never said I wanted to get one! Let me go, you dumbass!" Ed struggled, wondering how someone as incapacitated as Havoc could be so strong.

"Oh, come on, Ed! Live a little! Be cool, follow our lead, and get inked!" Havoc persuaded, shooting him a wide smirk.

"Leave me the hell alone, Jean!" Ed screeched.

"First name basis, are we? Well, all right then, Edward, I guess that means I'm pretty much your best friend – almost like the Colonel is, right?"

"Mustang isn't my best friend, you retard! Why the hell would I want some perverted, wet match stick as my best friend?"

Havoc paused. "When you put it like that, it's pretty hard to come up with reasons, you know."

"HAVOC!"

"Fine!" Havoc let him go, a few steps away from the tattoo parlor. "But just so you know, I was willing to pay for it!" He sucked in a deep gust of smoke and flicked the butt of the cigarette away. He slowly blew the breath out, extending the moment, as Ed warily glanced at the double doors of the tattoo parlor. "Thinking about it?"

"No..." he trailed, but Havoc saw the contemplation in his eyes.

"Hey, that symbol," Havoc began, as Ed broke from his train of thought, "what does it mean to you?"

"The symbol... my old alchemy teacher had it tattooed on her collarbone, actually," Ed started, softly, remembering the detailed explanation on the symbol his teacher had permanently drawn on her body. "It was a commonly drawn alchemical symbol in Flamel's texts. The crucified serpent is a representation of 'fixing the volatile', or the making of the elixir of mercury; the legendary curative that removed all poisonous elements: the Philosopher's Stone. Its a symbol that signifies... overcoming one's materialistic nature. It's turning something that plagues or torments you into something that can either strengthen or cure you." Ed clenched his fist, very aware of his automail leg.

Havoc nodded in deep thought. The kid had it all worked out. He remembered how long it had taken him to decide what to get on his body. "You should get it."

Ed frowned. "I don't think so..."

"It's apart of you. Besides, you always have the symbol plastered on that red coat of yours," Havoc pointed out. "You might as well get it somewhere permanent – I hear you're always shredding that coat during battles."

Ed dropped his gaze. His hand twitched to his abdomen, to the spot Havoc had suggested he get it drawn on. It wasn't because of the obscene comment Havoc had said, but rather because Ed truly wouldn't mind having it there. It was safe, concealed, and only he would know where it was.

Edward glanced at the shop with guarded eyes, turning back to the good-natured smile on Havoc's face.

"It doesn't hurt that much once you're one-minute into the session," he offered in comfort. "It's also a pretty simple design, so it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes or so; including prepping and all that."

"...Were you serious about paying for it?" Ed asked, skeptical, and the man's smile grew a little bigger.

"'Course I'd pay for it! It's your first tattoo!" Havoc snapped his fingers at the idea he just came up with. "I've known you for around five years or so but not once have I ever given you something of real worth during your birthday."

"Like that box of cigarettes you gave me for my fifteenth," Ed pipped, causing Havoc to cough.

"You...never told anyone about that, did you?"

"I promised, didn't I?" Ed asked, smirking a little at the relieved expression. He would use this as blackmail when he was in a tangle.

"I'll pay for the tattoo, how about it? An early birthday present. But it only stands for today!" Havoc added quickly, noticing the hesitance in his eyes. "After today, you're on your own, kid."

Ed took a deep breath and sighed. "Why do I always get dragged into these things? Fine. Let's go—before I change my mind!"

Havoc grinned so broadly Edward thought his face would split in two if it got any wider. "Fantastic! Let's go, Ed, before anyone see's you!"

"What's so bad about going inside a tattoo parlor?" he asked, suspiciously, holding out the door for Havoc to wheel inside.

"You want it to be a surprise, right?" The man chirped, slyly. "For that lucky girl you'll fu—"

"Hey, how much for one tattoo?" Ed shouted, ignoring Havoc's nasty choice in words.

"Hello there!" a middle-aged man greeted, putting down his magazine. He stood up, revealing completely inked arms, and Ed admired the beautiful collection of pieces he had drawn on himself.

Perhaps being a human canvas wasn't so bad if art like that was printed on your body.

The designs were deep and entrancing – a dizzying display of modern brutality and the delicate wonders in nature. The colors were striking and assembled almost magically, enhancing the black outline of the pictures and giving them an almost realistic appearance. "Here to get a tattoo, little man?"

"Little?" Ed hissed, eyes blazing at the puzzled man. "Who are you calling little, you son of a —"

"AH! Dan, this here is Edward and he wants to get a tattoo today. He's a State Alchemist," Havoc cut in, clapping a strong hand upon Ed's arm. They were nearly the same height if Havoc could stand, Ed being shorter by almost a whole two inches, but it seemed to be enough to tick the boy off some more as he compared their heights critically in his head. "He's seventeen, he's _big _enough, isn't he?" Havoc madly wiggled his brows at the boy, urging the older man to catch on.

It seemed to have worked, for the man unsurely said: "Yes, he is certainly big enough...now, then, Edward, would you like to go through our design book or do you have something in mind?"

Ed remained silent for a moment. "I have something in mind. I doubt you have it though: it's called the Flamel symbol."

"Hmm," Dan hummed in thought. "I believe you're right, son, I don't. Why don't you draw it out for me so I can take a gander at it? If you can't draw it's okay, I just need a rough sketch of the image."

"It's fine," Ed dismissed. "I can draw." He took the sheet of paper and pencil from the man and expertly drew the symbol in no time at all, adding a few details like serpentine eyes and the briefest touches of scales upon the body of the snake. "It has to be in one solid color," he stated, "Black."

"Black?" Dan turned the image around and added: "How about red?"

"Black."

"You sure?"

"Positive," Ed said firmly, knowing red would just be too eye-catching. "I want it in black."

"The color will completely ruin the eyes you drew on the snake, considering it will be outlined in black, too," Dan warned, and Ed frowned.

"That was just something I added on the spot," he muttered. "I suppose it wouldn't really matter in the end. I still want it in black."

"Alright, what part of your body would you like it on?"

Ed was hesitant, as he gazed at the spot on his hip where Havoc had pointed to previously. He didn't want the tattoo to be on his arms, as he treasured them too much to stain them with something so permanent, and it was a little bit too flamboyant to place it on his chest or neck or back. He thought about his lower body: his thigh or his ankle?

_Thigh? Who the hell am I, Envy? _Ed grumbled internally, shaking off the homunculus from his thoughts as he deliberated. He supposed no other spot really caught his eye and he pointed a little bit right of the hip bone, since he was pretty sure that having someone puncture a needle full of black liquid into your bone would be excruciating.

He didn't care if he was used to feeling pain – that didn't mean he liked it.

"Alright, sit down and lift your shirt." Ed did so, frowning when the man lowered his leather pants a little. He gulped when he saw the machine, stationed directly over the spot he'd pointed to, and sighed when the man nodded and set the machine down. He disinfected the area, even shaved around it, which felt awkward for Ed for the first few moments.

In no time at all, the old man was expertly outlining the image with a marker upon his skin. If only it was this easy, Ed thought despairingly, casting a look at Havoc, who looked distinctly pleased with himself.

"Uh, Havoc?" Ed asked testily, as the tattooist slowly but surely began to get closer and closer to using that pain-inducing contraption. He hated needles, having had them inserted into his body during automail installation, and to have himself purposely get inflicted by such atrocities was really stupid.

He was beginning to see reason, finally.

"What?"

"I don't think I wanna' do this anymore..." A marker-outline was good enough, right? It wasn't as if he _needed _a tattoo – he'd gotten along just fine with the symbol scribbled on the back of his red coat...

"C'mon, don't chicken out now, Full Metal!" Havoc whined, urging the tattoo artist to continue when he looked up in hesitance. "Just take it like a man! Come on, you've come this far!"

"Ready?" Dan asked, flicking on the machine. It gave off a growling noise that mocked Ed, who flushed cold at what this meant.

Ed's gold eyes widened in horror. "Wh-what? No, wait!"

"Go!" Havoc sang, and Dan went right to work.

"But—holy shi—_OUCH!_" Ed ground his teeth as he felt the machine pierce through the tender skin of his abdomen. He clenched his hands and followed the tattooist orders to lay down and be still. It _hurt_, despite what Havoc had told him; it felt as if he were being slowly sliced open with a very sharp knife.

The initial shock of pain eventually wore off, leaving behind a dull stinging that he could ignore compared to other wounds he'd gotten out on the battlefield, but he eternally cursed Havoc for his persuasive skills as the tattooist sunk the needle in a particularly sensitive spot on his abdomen.

He left the shop with a sore stomach, holding his hand over the thick bandage tapped to secure the tattoo.

"You're a liar," Ed accused, darkly. "That _hurt _and now its on my fucking body _for life_."

"You'll thank me when you have girls hanging off your arms," the Lieutenant waved off, placing another cigarette in his mouth. "Now, c'mon, I had to take you back to HQ a whole hour ago."

"What about _this_?" the former alchemist hissed, pointing to the tattoo hidden behind thick patches of gauze.

"I told you, keep it a secret until that lucky girl fucks—"

"Let's go to HQ!" Ed stormed forward, ignoring Havoc's snickers, and wondered with dread just how the heck he was going to explain this to Alphonse.

"Hey, could you light this for me?"

"No."

"What? Oh, come on, it was just a tattoo!"

"That will be on my body for _life_, do you understand that?" Ed grit.

"What does that have to do with lighting a cigarette?"

"Everything. If I can cause you the slightest bit of discomfort, I will," Ed snapped, and Havoc groaned and rolled the cigarette between his lips anxiously.

This was the last time he was ever going to let Havoc watch over him.

Nothing good ever came from hanging out with the blond man, as they both made their way back to HQ to meet up with Mustang, who, Ed was sure, would only dump a load of work on his once more until the man got around to dispatching him from the State Military for good.

And to believe all this came from a few war stories...

* * *

**A/N: **Oh. Ed has a tattoo now. Now he's hotter than he was before, wouldn't you agree? XD

I am definitely going to make that impulsive decision to get a tattoo come back to bite him in the ass some other time...

Review!

_Scarlett._


	10. J is for Juxtaposition

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**J **_is for **J**uxtaposition

* * *

You hear the radio playing a vivid, energetic, thrilling, song but you cannot understand the high notes and keys because your heart is playing its own melancholic quartet.

You can hear your breathing come too fast, come too shallow, as you grip your mothers hand.

She is smiling very weakly down at you, her jewel eyes sparkling with fondness as her face loses more color and becomes a pasty white with time.

Your brother is beside you, sniffling and trying very hard to resist tears, and you are numb to the core because you cannot wrap your mind around the fact that she is _dying _and that, as golden yellow sunlight streams in through the drawn curtains beside your mother, everyone else is having the time of their lives outside.

You wish the sky would become bruised, would start to rain torrents of water down to the earth so your own tears can blend with them. You wish the ground would erupt in flames, would crack and break and crumble, to reflect the emotional turmoil that whirls inside of you but nothing happens; not even a cloud moves in the pure blue sky and not even an inkling of black spots appear as a cooling breeze comes from the east.

You can hear the laughter of children come from outside, as your ignorant playmates continue to enjoy the day without a care in the world.

You hate it.

You wish you could shut them up because your mother is _dying _and there is not a thing you can do about it.

Alphonse is crying freely now, hiccuping as your mother shushes him, voice raspy.

You grip her hand tightly, almost deathly, as your brother wails for her and lurches forward to grab her hand as well.

The white towel thrown over her forehead is dry now.

The sweat coating her temples and forehead and the base of her neck has started to deplete, as your mothers body slowly shuts down.

"Edward, Alphonse," she says, very weakly, very lowly, that you lean forward eagerly to hear what she has to say. Your brother is right beside you, ignoring the company behind watching with sorrowful eyes, and your little heart nearly breaks when she says: "I'll always love you...I'm sorry."

"N-no," you choke. "No, 'cause you're gonna' be alright..." They are empty words and you know it but you can't help but to say them; just so they could ease the pain blossoming inside your chest as your mother smiles sadly. "Y-y-you're gonna' be...okay," your voice cracks at the end.

She gives both of your hands one last comforting squeeze before her strength is reduced to nothing and she no longer holds your hand.

Her eyes no longer reflect the sunny sunlight outside and her breathing has stopped.

Her hand starts to feel cold the longer you hold it.

The room has become deathly silent until it is broken by a sudden hiccup; a sudden jerky, squeaky, noise that's coming from around you.

She's dead, you think with horror, she's _dead_.

You feel cold.

You feel alone.

You feel like a piece of you has been taken away.

You feel like a fragment of your heart has been crushed until its unrecognizable.

You feel a pain like nothing else; an anguishing and suddenly harsh reality that makes you open your eyes and shake that translucent curtain of child naivete from your shoulders.

You realize that people _can _be taken away from you with an abruptness that matches those great, wild, blizzards in the North.

Your brothers crying is so loud in your ears and that is because, as you feel someone grab you from behind and pull you away from her dead body, as you thrash and flail to be left alone with her, it is because _you _are the one crying so loudly.

You're screaming to be left alone; you're screaming for your mommy and you know, with a sense of dread and sickness, that she is dead and she'll never, ever, come back.

_She can't be gone, _you think, grievously. _She can't leave me! Please, no..._

"Ed!"

It's Winry and she's the one holding you back. You feel an urge to strike her, an urge to shove her away and call her very bad word you can think of, but the sight of her watery and glossy sapphire eyes makes you think twice so you let her pull you away.

Instead of becoming a wreck in the arms of your surrogate grandmother or your brother, which you would prefer, as you can hear his own pained crying from somewhere around you, you become a wreck in her arms, and slide to the floor as she cries with you.

The energetic song coming from the radio drowns your crying a little.

You think its okay because when this is all over you can say she was the one crying the loudest, matching the volume of the radio, even though you can hear your own wails echo through the empty expanse of your home.

* * *

**A/N: **This one was hard to pull off. The word itself threw me off when I first heard it. I had only a vague idea of what it meant and I cursed my friends for their sadistic ways. They're all Fullmetal Alchemist fans so that's why most of these prompts are so closely related to the series but this one was just to fuck with me.

Needless to say, it took me one whole week to come up with something and in the end it was a vain effort. I ended up just opening the document and writing random stuff. Eventually, this flowed out. Maybe I should randomly write more often, it helps! XD

I know this one is sad. I'll try not to put too much angst in this collection; I want it to be a happy series of prompts, not a depressing one like the Color Collection.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	11. K is for K i s s i n g

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**K **_is for **K**-i-s-s-i-n-g

* * *

It was a hot night in Resembool.

The air was thick and stifling; the humidity and the sweltering temperatures inside the rooms were unbearable and Edward didn't know how they could sleep in such uncomfortable climates. His sheets were tossed off his bed, hanging near the edge, but the mattress felt like it was on fire.

His shirt was off.

He was in boxer shorts.

Sweat coated his forehead in a sheen and he could feel perspiration start to break out all over his body when a particularly nasty heat wave washed through him.

"It's too hot," he grumbled, sitting up in his bed. "Damn, it's _hot_." He slid off the mattress and padded to the door, closing it behind him as silently as he could and avoiding the creaky floorboards of the hall. The stairs were tricky, as most of the floorboards were loose, but he managed to step down them without making too much noise.

He wouldn't want D.K. and Lion King to wake up and cause him trouble.

He reached the front door and gently pushed open the screen door. The wood door was open. This saved him time as he slowly closed the screen behind and he walked onto the patio.

"W-Winry?" he stuttered, surprised to find the blond mechanic sitting on the bench near the house's front window. She looked up at him, equally surprised.

"Ed, what are you doing up so late?"

"It's too hot inside," he replied, taking seat beside her. She scooted over to give him more room. "You?"

"Same."

"This is one thing I don't miss from Resembool," Ed sighed, fanning himself with his hand. "Its infamous heat waves."

"Yeah, but you get used to them," Winry smiled. She noticed Edward grip his leg port, start to rub the scarred edge with his hand. "Is your port aching?"

"A bit," he admitted, removing his hand despite the tingling pricks of pain. "It's not too bad; it's worse when its raining or cold."

"You should put a towel over it," Winry frowned. "Do you want me to go get you a towel?"

"No!" Ed said quickly. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

"Okay..." she trailed off, unconvinced. "But if it really starts to bother you, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Yeah, yeah." Edward leaned into the bench, stretching his legs out and gazing at just how contrast both were. The metal gleamed under the light of the moon while his flesh leg was simply illuminated.

It always fascinated him just how different yet alike his limbs could be.

"What do you think Alphonse is doing right now?" Winry asked, picking the hem of her night shirt.

"He's probably out walking, wherever he is," Ed replied, opening his eyes to the crescent moon above him. "He told me he just goes out when I'm sleeping. He comes back before any one else is awake."

"Oh, I always thought he just stayed in the room with you," Winry confessed, a little sheepish.

"Nah," Ed shook his head. "That gets old after the first week or so. Sometimes he stays up reading a book or thinking, but most of the time he goes out for a long walk."

"Well, at least he isn't bored, right?"

"He must get bored," Ed said, softly. "He can't sleep. He can't eat. He can't even feel the heat I'm feeling right now. He's limited to the most trivial things in life and he can't even enjoy those, either, because those need some sort of physical stimulus." He solemnly stared at the moon, at its bright pale beam and the fog that threatened to veil it. "I wouldn't be surprised if he just decided to give up trying to feel human..."

"Edward," Winry whispered. "Don't say that. You'll get his body back soon and then he'll be able to do all those things you said he couldn't. Eventually, he'll be doing even more and then you two can—"

"But what if I can't?" Ed ground his teeth, the sheer possibility clutching his heart painfully. "What if I can't restore his body? What if this is all pointless and another stupid, naïve, dream?"

"It's _not_ stupid!" Winry shouted, grabbing his shoulder roughly and forcing him to face her. His shadowed eyes clashed with her glossy ones. "You _will_ bring him back. You'll figure out just how to do it! I trust you! So don't say this is all some pointless quest because it's _not!_"

"But—"

"No buts!" Winry said stubbornly. "I know you can do it; I believe you can! What happened to all those theories of yours? I haven't heard of a single time that one of your theories has ever been wrong and I doubt this ones an exception! His body is out there, somewhere, and all you need is that...that stone to bring it back! That was the point of getting automail and leaving, right?" Winry searched his eyes, his pained and hesitant and grim eyes. "To get back your brothers body and right the wrong you committed when you were eleven?"

"...It's not that simple," he looked away.

Winry dropped her eyes, pain fleeting her face for a second, and through watering eyes she courageously blinked away, she pulled him into a tight embrace.

He froze, as her arms wrapping around him and her face burying into the crook of his neck. He felt shakes wrack her body and he knew, with a heavy heart, that she was crying again. He fisted his hands, grim that he had once again made her cry with his stupid thoughts.

He shouldn't have ever told her his doubts.

"You'll find a way, Ed," she whispered into his ear, her breath brushing his cheek as she leaned back a little. "I know you will. In fact, I bet that you have an idea of what to do right now...don't you?"

Edward got a flash of Kimblee and the two Philosopher Stone's in his possession. The shark grin that produced that bloody crystal and flung him into a pit of darkness was something he would never forget. He was the reason he wasn't with his brother in that very moment.

He swatted those thoughts away; he needed to get his game on. He wouldn't fall into temptation. He promised his brother they would not get their bodies back using the sinful powers of the Philosophers Stone.

His thoughts steered in a different direction: The Promised Day that was soon to start. He was about to leave in a few hours, actually...

He knew he needed to rest but he just couldn't sleep with all these negative thoughts rolling around in his head.

The Promised Day... it offered a lot of opportunities...

_An idea of what to do? _He thought, his mouth twitching into a small smile. "Yeah...I do, actually," he confessed, huskily. "Huh, strange.."

"What is?" she asked, still keeping him close. She felt his arms move and before she knew it they were resting around her waist, pulling her closer to him. The movement was cautious and slow, as if she would push him away if he made abrupt motions.

She leaned back a little, just enough for her to look at his face. His breath tickled her nose and she moved until their noses were even. She felt him shift, felt his arms tighten a little more, and she hesitantly glanced into his eyes.

They were like a cats eyes in the cloak of darkness: they shined so brightly and vividly that she had trouble keeping herself from being lured into his intoxicating gaze.

"I do have an idea of what to do," he breathed, tilting his head a little bit. "But it's not foolproof."

"It's enough."

"I might not come back."

"I know you will."

It wasn't long before their faces got closer. They breathed in each others life for a few heartbeats, as their lips gently touched until they completely sealed together.

It was a simple kiss.

A chaste kiss that felt warm and tingly and made her heart thud hard in her chest.

His mouth began to move against hers slowly and soon enough they fell into a rhythm both of them could keep up to.

His lips weren't as soft as she had imagined they would be. They were rough and slightly chapped but somehow Winry thought that it suited him, as the kiss deepened just a little bit.

"Ho ho ho! What do we here?" Greed's sly voice pierced the suffocating Resembool air. "A late night rendezvous? Never thought you had it in you, kid."

Edward froze, his eyes flying open to stare into equally horrified eyes.

"Heh," Greed's voice changed and became lighter, more jovial and less arrogant: "Edward and Winry sitting in a tree! K-i-s-s-i-n-g!—" - his voice changed back to Greed - "Good going, Henchman! Now, take off her _shirt!_" There was another voice change. "Don't listen to Greed, Ed! In fact, ignore—damn it—ignore us," Ling snorted a laugh. "We were never—"

"Oi, that's really annoying, Ling," Greed whined, with a frown. "Quit taking over my body."

"It was mine to begin with!"

"Shut up and let me watch the show!"

Edward shook in place, trying hard to keep his fury from becoming unbridled. He pushed Winry away from him, gritting: "I'll be right back," and getting stiffly to his feet, where he broke into a bolt and leaped over the wood rail, ("GREED! YOU 'RE DEAD WHEN I CATCH YOU! GET BACK HERE!"), following the laughing homunculus around the house while screaming out obscenities that promised to wipe out half of his Philosopher Stone.

Winry touched her lips, cheeks a pleasant pink, and sank into the bench, unable to resist a giggle as she continued to gaze at the moon.

* * *

**A/N: **I hated Greed when he interrupted them as I wrote this one-shot. As I write this authors note, I sincerely hope Edward catches up with Greed and beats the snot out of him!

Greed is a _fool!_ It is sin to interrupt Ed/Winry _fluff!_ XD

Just assume that in Resembool its a little hot. I hope I got the order of events right because, if I remember correctly, Greed, Ed and the gang arrive at Winry's house and then she arrives...and then she starts undressing, Ed's choking on his sandwich, eventually Winry kicks out all the intruders from her room and then Ed and Greed leave the next day...This takes place around nighttime lol.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	12. L is for Lactose Intolerant

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**L **_is for **_L_**actose-intolerant

* * *

"C'mon, Ed," Winry coaxed, holding a spoon out to him. "Just _one_ bite!"

Edward stared at the spoon with disdain. "...I hate milk..."

"But it's not milk," she grinned. "It's milk _jelly_."

Edward did not look convinced. "It doesn't matter, the main ingredient is the same. Its just a half-industrialized product created by the secretions of a cow which you call milk. I think I'll pass." Ed pushed the spoon away.

Winry's smile twitched. "Edward, the doctor said that you need more calcium in your diet. If you won't drink milk the old-fashioned way, this is the next best thing!" She shoved the spoon forcefully into his face, which he responded by looking away with a huff.

"There are other ways to acquire calcium, you know!" Ed snapped. "I don't have to drink milk just to get my daily percentage of calcium into my system!"

"But its the best way so_ eat it!_" Winry grabbed his face and shoved the spoon into his mouth.

Ed choked and tried desperately to get away from her and the offending _goo _on the spoon. "I don't wanna'! Get off me, Winry!"

"Not until you finish your milk!"

"I SAID _I_ _DON'T WANT ANY!_"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN,I MADE IT SO _YOU'RE EATING IT!_"

"ACK! LET ME GO! YOU'RE CHOKING ME—"

"EDWARD!"

"WINRY, GET THE _FUCK_ OFF!"

She growled when he spat out the jelly, looking nauseous. "Milk is good for you! Drink it! Or in this case, EAT IT!"

"Shut up! Don't tell me what to do, woman!" Ed snarled. "It's like I'll _die_ from not drinking milk!"

"Argh!" Winry threw her head back in frustration. "This is why you're still the size of a bean, Ed!"

"It is not!" Ed fired back. "It's not because I don't drink milk! It's because Hohenheim is _broken_!"

"_What_?"

"Considering that bastard is my biological father, exactly half of his genes and half of my mother genes were mixed together in order to create me," Ed explained loftily. "Hohenheim is the size of a Briggs bear and my mother was of average height, considering he's male his genes should be more dominate than my mothers...so Hohenheim is broken because his genes obviously didn't—work," Ed coughed, relieved he didn't really admit he was short.

Winry gave him a blank stare. "Ed, that has nothing to do with this..."

"WHAT DO'YA MEAN IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS?" Ed roared, outraged she even thought so. A thought came to mind and he grinned evilly. Now was the time to unleash his carefully calculated lie: he had to time it just right... "It has everything to do with this! He's the reason why I'm lactose-intolerant—" He stopped.

Now all he had to do was let her rise to the bait...

Winry's brows shot up. "Lactose-intolerant?" She murmured, lowering the spoonful of homemade gelatine. She gave Ed a long and hard stare, noticing his apprehensive eyes and his hesitant expression. She knew what he was doing. She knew very well but he wasn't the only one who could act... "Ed, it's not that you hate milk...it's that your lactose-intolerant?"

Edward swallowed. "Y-yeah basically," he said tightly. The look of intense hurt in her eyes was starting to gnaw at him.

"Oh, Ed," Winry's brows furrowed with concern, as she placed the container of gelatine on the floor beside her feet. "Why didn't you ever tell me? If I knew you were lactose-intolerant I would have _never_ forced you to drink milk in the first place! Oh, no, all those times I forced you to drink milk... you must've suffered _so_ much!" Winry mourned, making sure to drop her head to enhance the appearance of guilt.

Secretly, she grinned.

Edward looked conflicted now. "Uh, Winry...well, I..."

"It's okay!" She rose her head, erasing her grin smoothly and making her eyes water a bit. She saw his gold eyes widen and cloud with true guilt. _Serves you right, you liar..._ "But you still need calcium in your system...Oh! I've got an idea! I'll be right back! I'm _so_ sorry, Edward, I really didn't know! I promise I'll make it up to you," Winry paused by the door. _Last chance to save yourself... _"But how come you never told us before?"

Edward swallowed down a rock of guilt. "I...was...embarrassed?" he watched Winry smile warmly and say: "That's nothing to be embarrassed about, silly! You should have just told me! You are my _best friend_, after all!" She ran out of the hospital room.

Ed stared after her, at a loss for words.

_Oh, shit._

Alphonse peeked his head into the hospital room a few short minutes after Winry's 'departure', sighing at the utterly guilty and defeated look on Ed's face. The younger sibling turned to the blonde mechanic standing by the door with a hand covering her mouth, muffling laughter: she had been told of this ploy of his beforehand by a nervous Al, who knew that his brother would be inflicted great pain if Winry every found out about the lie...which she would because she was Winry Rockbell and his brother had this really bad habit of forgetting his lies and screwing himself over..

"Ask him," Winry mouthed. Al nodded.

"Brother, did you actually do it?"

"Do what?" Ed mumbled, glancing at the container of milk jelly. "Lie? Yeah, I did..."

"Brother, you know that she'll eventually find out right?" Al's knowing voice rang with a metallic ting. "And she won't be happy when she does."

"I know that, Al!" Ed snapped, knowing very well that if the guilt didn't eat him up first he'd get a good mind-blowing whack on the head with her trusty wrench. His eyes strayed to the container of milk jelly below him again and he reached down, grunting with the effort as his stomach gave jabs of pain

He grabbed the spoon she set on his sheets and popped open the lid.

Ed stared at the gelatine neatly placed inside the container. He rose his spoon and stabbed it into the sweet treat, plucking out some and shoving it into his mouth with tightly shut eyes.

"Whoa..."

"Well?" Winry whispered.

"He's...eating it..." Al whispered back in disbelief.

"_Huh_?" Winry crouched on her knees and peeked her head in slightly, catching sight of Edward with the spoon hanging off his lips; eyes screwed shut.

Al watched his brother slowly open his eyes, a look of small wonder in them. He was glad for being an armor suddenly; he would have been grinning if he were still human.

A small wry smile replaced the grim line on his brothers face.

"How is it?" Al asked, with quiet amusement. He glanced at Winry. She was waiting with baited breath for his response.

What she heard made her grin and partially forgive him for lying.

"...It's not that bad," Ed answered, eating another spoonful. He took two more before continuing. "But I still hate milk." He took another spoonful. "Don't get me wrong." He swallowed down another spoonful. "It's still disgusting..." He sighed in delight. "...and it still makes my stomach turn."

Al chuckled, watching his brother devour the container of dessert. "Of course, brother, of course..."


	13. M is for Macabre

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**M **_is for **M**acabre

* * *

"No."

"C'mon! It's _cool_!"

"No."

"You didn't even give it a chance!"

"No."

"Winry," Edward whined, tugging on her purse like a child as Winry stiffly stared through the window of the shop before her. Her eyes trailed over the Gothic, dark, furniture that it housed; to the demonic gargoyles and macabre fixtures attached to the rocking chairs and other furniture.

"No! I won't have your lack of taste ruin my plans," Winry frowned. "Edward, you can't honestly think _that _would look good inside a baby's room, do you?"

Edward gazed at the monstrous face that was carved into the vanity. He grinned. "I think it'd look _awesome _inside a baby's room."

Winry pinched her nose. "No. I won't have my child spoiled by your obvious fashion deficiencies!"

"Deficiencies?" Ed gaped, offended. "Are you kidding me? I'll give the kid a room to _beg _for! He'll have the most bad-ass room in all of Resembool!"

"No!" Winry barked, eyes flashing dangerously. Edward quieted for a moment; an angry wife was bad enough but an angry _pregnant _wife was even worse. "Look, how about those?" She pointed to the store across from her, which offered nice, pastel-colored, furniture that would lighten up the house they had bought near her grandmothers. "Those look nice and the price is affordable, too."

Ed snorted derisively. "What? You want to make the kid gay or something? Get _those!_" he insisted, pointing to the obsidian painted rocking chair and creepy nightstand.

"Ugh, Ed! Those are so ugly! Its hideous, okay?"

"No, they're not! _That's _hideous," Ed pointed to the previous furniture she had admired. "Look, I know your automail master was gay and all but...seriously, that would totally cramp my boys style!"

"Cramp his style?" Winry shrieked, incredulously. "He hasn't even been _born _yet! What style?"

"Tch, he's popular even before getting out of the womb," Ed smirked. "He _is _the offspring of the Full Metal Alchemist! He'll have girls crowding around him for play dates in no time!"

Winry sighed, but couldn't beat down the smile that crawled on her lips. "No, Edward, and that's final." She sighed and glanced down the line of stores in downtown Central, ignoring Ed's insistent whining, until her eyes caught the glimmer of mahogany wood. She walked forward, sending Ed a look when he tried to hold her back, and stopped and gazed at the furniture across the street.

The colors were dark.

The model was stylish and elegant.

But the colors were dark...

_Hmm..._ "How about those?" Winry suggested, pointing to the small store. Edward stopped fogging up the window of the Gothic furniture store and walked beside her, looking in the direction she pointed to, and admitted, rather begrudgingly, that the furniture was _okay_.

"...I still like that rocking chair, though," Ed looked at the demonic images carved on the chair longingly.

"C'mon, you disturbed idiot," Winry muttered, dragging him across the street and to the next furniture store.


	14. N is for Nocturnal

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**N **_is for **N**octurnal

* * *

She always heard him pacing up and down the hall as she worked on his new arm. She would take careful measurements, assuring the quality of the job, while listening to his uneven footfalls pass by her door every few minutes.

She never put much thought in his actions while she was immersed in creating his prosthesis, as it always screwed her up and made her work extra to fix her error, but that night she decided to give into the curiosity and she paused her work, glancing over her shoulder and to the crack beneath the door.

She saw the normal glow of moonlight come from under it but she saw the shadow that briefly blocked the moons calm beam.

She noticed the person hovered there, her ears straining themselves as she tried to properly hear the shuffling of clothes.

But the person kept moving after a few moments.

Winry worried her bottom lip for a few seconds before dismissing it and going back to her work, managing to connect a few wires before the footfalls came again. They were uneven, again, meaning they belonged to one person, again, and Winry stood up and walked to the door this time, standing in front of it just as the person she cared for deeply stood on the other side.

He paused there, as usual, and she had the impulse to throw open the door and bark what the heck he wanted when he moved again.

She stood there for at least twenty minutes, just staring at the wood and thinking why his passing made her heart beat very, very fast. Her heartbeat only picked up when she heard his steps _again _and stop by the door once more.

She breathed in, steadily, trying to calm her racing heart, before pretending she'd just _barely_ stood and opened the door.

Her eyes locked on wide gold and she pretended she hadn't noticed his nocturnal pacing. "Oh, Ed!" she gasped in fake-surprise. "What are you doing up so late? It's about to be three in the morning; you should be resting right now, you know."

"Er, I, uh," he stammered, his cheeks flushing pink. She briefly thought it was cute. "I just couldn't sleep is all – I was about to go get a glass a water, actually..."

"Me...me, too," she mumbled, relieved she found an excuse to be outside her room now. "Wanna' go..together?"

"What? Oh, yeah, sure," Edward rubbed the back of his neck as he usually did when he was nervous.

_What am I thinking? _Winry sighed internally, shaking thoughts of him actually wanting to see her from her mind. _Stop thinking stupid thoughts! _She reprimanded herself, motioning Ed to follow her.

They walked downstairs in nervous silence, Winry thinking that maybe Edward's habitual nighttime pacing as she worked on his arm was something related to impatience although the shorter boy kept glancing at her from over the rim of his cup; heart thudding in his ears as he drank in the ethereal glow of her pretty oil smudged face...

* * *

**A/N: **Random little snapshot I wrote on whim. Hope ya'll enjoyed it! :D

Review!

_Scarlett._


	15. O is for Opal

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**O **_is for **O**pal

* * *

He rolled the ring in his hand.

It was a modestly sized ring that was crafted to fit on the finger of a lithe woman. The band was a buttery gold; a pliable gold that, in his eyes, spoke of the frailty of human relations. The use and continuous use of the ring would result in a dull in the once-shiny coat; a bend in the once-perfect circle.

A loss in the once-adoring gaze he will give that special woman.

But it was metal all the same.

Metal, he knew from experience, could be restored and repaired.

It could be reused and polished.

The stone perched upon the crown was beautiful and it was the reason he had chosen it, as it caught the sunlight and reflected a million colors in its wake; a million opportunities that played out in the stretching plains of his mind.

The inclined surfaces of the stone reflected white, the color of naivete and innocence, when he twirled the ring around in his palm; playing with the notion of some woman wearing this ring and bragging to her friends about it; playing with the notion of the ring bearing bitter memories of a love once-praised.

He wouldn't let that happen though.

He stopped rolling it in his hand.

He would never let that happen.

He shrugged off the pessimistic thoughts and continued to muse over the ring...the ring that was bought on impulse.

The ring that was foreign.

It did not even come from this world, he thought, it would be invaluable if were to ever sell it. There was no price for this particular ring. There was nothing that would match it in its brilliance; in its resiliency.

There was no equivalency for this piece jewelry that cost him more than half of the years salary when his home was Germany those many months ago...

The ring reminded him of his mother.

She was invaluable, too, but she had been lost.

It reminded him of his brother as well.

His body was invaluable...yet it had been regained, through many years of backbreaking labor and strife.

It reminded him of Winry, the girl who had quickly become a woman, and she was invaluable, too.

He clenched his hand, crushing the ring with his machine strength.

He had lost and nearly lost everyone in his life.

He wondered, as he glanced to the side, to the woman holding a glass of lemon aid and quietly kicking the dog away with a bare foot, just how, exactly, she was going to be taken away from him as she smiled warmly and handed him the glass; retelling him how she laughed at her own forgetfulness because she nearly served him milk.

The ring should be worn by someone invaluable, he thought absently, the ice-cold drink burning his throat.

Someone like her.

Someone invaluable wearing something equally invaluable.

It canceled equivalent exchange.

It was perfect.

The ring was still clenched between metal fingers.

Her smile was still warm enough to melt his mechanical limbs a thousand times over.

He wondered if she would ever even _agree_ to wear the invaluable ring in his hand.

Despite himself, he hoped she would.

* * *

**A/N: **You could say this was the partner fiction to my other one-shot _Ivory _in my Color Collection. This could be read as a stand-alone, however, so there's no real need to go read it unless you want to get the feel for the short series.

I know I said I was going to do some sort of continuation for it but in the end I came up with this instead. I'm sure you all could guess what would happen next and I do apologize for the slight dark foreshadowing I added up there. Just so it doesn't bother anyone, it's Ed's paranoia that's making him think Winry will be torn away from him.

I'm not that cruel.

Or am I?

Opal...is white. Figure out the color of the stone and you've got just exactly what type of stone it is! It starts with a d and ends with a d and its a girls best friend, if you're still wondering.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	16. P is for Pat

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**P **_is for **P**at

* * *

His form of affection was a little awkward.

He didn't give her long hugs or kisses in public; he didn't yell out his love for her to the whole wide world; he didn't tell everyone of his current relationship - he didn't even _try_.

He gave her pats.

Whenever she did something adorable, something cute or funny, he'd laugh or chuckle, and then come up beside or in front of her and give her a gentle pat on her head. Sometimes he'd go as far as ruffle her hair, making her mad and adding to his amusement, or sometimes he'd give in to the longing of feeling her close to him and slowly bring her into a brief embrace.

But it always began with a pat.

She never questioned this type of approach. It was original and it was clearly one of the traits of him that _wasn't_ out for attention grabbing.

It didn't really matter.

But she still wondered: why a pat?

She guessed it traced back to his mother.

She remembered Trisha Elric vaguely. She knew she was a kind and beautiful woman with sweet forest green eyes and a warm smile that would make even the most distrustful child melt under her gaze. The most vivid memory she had of the woman was when she gave her a cookie and patted her head fondly, gently telling her to keep an eye on Edward and Alphonse for her.

Winry came to the conclusion that the pat on the head was something Edward adopted from Trisha.

And, as Edward shook his head at her obsessive tendencies with automail, she felt his flesh hand pat her head affectionately as he smiled down at her.

She didn't question it anymore.

She liked this type of affection, anyway.


	17. Q is for Quicquidlibet

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**Q **_is for **Q**uicquidlibet

* * *

"Quic—what?" Winry scowled, as Edward smirked smartly and sat up on the couch. The alchemy tome in his hand was temporarily forgotten.

"Quicquidlibet," he repeated, smugly. "I said, you can go quicquidlibet quietly over there as I continue reading my book."

Winry's eyes sparked in annoyance. She sat up straighter, her cheeks becoming pink against her will, as Edward's grin grew wider and his eyes glowed a yellow so bright she wanted to punch him so she could crush the light out of them...

"Okay, genius, what the hell does that mean?"

"Oh, I don't know, Mrs. I'm-always-right," he retorted, laying back down on the couch and picking up the alchemy tome he left on his chest. "Why don't _you_ use your precious context clues and figure it out?"

"Ugh! Just because I was better at you in English when we were, like, _ten _doesn't mean I'm a walking encyclopedia!" Winry steamed, narrowing blue eyes at him. "That's _your _job, thankfully."

"The hells that suppose to mean?" Ed frowned, not liking her tone one bit.

"Nothing except that you just _have _to know everything in the goddamn world!" she sneered. "Why's the sky blue? 'Oh, that's because of the light that reflects off goddamn objects!'" she mimicked him quite badly, which only served to annoy him further.

"It is _not_ because of light reflecting off objects and _I do not sound like that!_" Ed shouted, nose wrinkled in dislike. "If you wanna' know so bad then go crack open a fucking dictionary and leave me alone!"

"You know what, I think I _will_!" Winry stood up and marched up the stairs, taking them by two and ignoring Edward's burning gaze. She stomped into her room and headed straight for her bookshelf, where she brushed her fingers against the spine of some books as she searched for a dictionary. Once she found one, she flipped it open and went straight to the 'q's.

She went through the list at least twice before slamming the book closed and grabbing another one. She went through that list twice, too, and still found nothing. But she was too stubborn to go downstairs and admit this to Edward so instead she walked to her grandmothers room; knowing fairly well the old woman kept a set of dictionaries in her own study that were different – older – than her own.

She went through those three times and found nothing similar to the word he had said.

She had a feeling he made it up to screw with her but she quickly brushed this thought away when she remembered that this was _Edward:_ he wouldn't pass up an opportunity to make her look stupid. And he was, _finally_, smart enough to understand that making stuff up in hopes of fooling her would only work for so long before she grabbed her wrench and beat the snot out of him.

And Edward had a phobia in regards to her wrench.

Winry seethed downstairs, ignoring Edward's curious eyes, and walked into the kitchen, where she poured herself a cup of water and chugged it down; hoping it would somehow quell the fury that was bubbling in her chest.

She _hated _being made an idiot of and right now, as the clock struck mid afternoon, she was in no mood to ponder over such a ridiculous word. So instead of marching back to Ed and demanding the definition, she walked to her workshop and slammed the door behind her, knowing picture frames rattled on the wall from the force of the slam, and cooled off in the only way she knew would work: working on automail.

She spent three hours straight working on nothing but mathematical equations and perfecting her alloy composition by experimenting with several different types of metals she had at hand.

That was until there was a knock on her door.

"What?" she snapped.

"Um...Winry? It's me, Alphonse..."

Her voice softened a bit. "What is it, Al?"

"Um...I was just wondering...did brother do something? Because he said that you were, uh, mad and didn't wanna' talk to anyone right now...I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you but, well, brother tends to be very dense and not understand when someone needs to talk or, um, vent and stuff..."

Winry smiled kindly. Leave it to Alphonse Elric to take into consideration other peoples feelings. Her smile turned into a scowl. And leave it to Edward Elric to dismiss other people's feelings and focus on his own like the selfish brat he was!

"Come in, Al, I think I do need to vent," she sighed. The door opened and Al walked inside quietly. His armor was shiny from the polish she gave it and he stood awkwardly by the door. She wondered how a suit of armor could even _look _awkward but brushed it off when her previous ire came back with a bite.

"Your brother was being a smart-mouthed little asshole again!" she growled. "He's messing with me and he knows it! Ugh! I _hate _it when he does this! He just can't handle that _someone _is better at something that he's not! I swear, this is just revenge for that one time I outsmarted him in class when we were in freaking elementary school!" Winry raved, twisting a screw in and cursing when it broke from the pressure. "He just _had _to be some big-shot prodigy, didn't he? Ugh, he pisses me off..." she mumbled the last bit, her anger reduced to something close to fatigue in less than a second.

She sighed and threw away the automail plate; muttering something about breaking the mold from applying too much pressure...

"I don't mean to sound inattentive but...what does all that have to do with what brother said?"

"He got me, Al," Winry confessed begrudgingly. "You know how I usually spring back with my own smart reply?"

Al nodded, unsurely.

"Well, this time he got me. I was speechless," some of her anger came back: "because I have absolutely _no idea _what that word means! I don't even know if its good, bad, or a little of both! I've never heard it in my life and-and its not even in the _dictionary!_"

Al hummed in thought. "Have you ever thought that maybe brother made it up to mess with you?"

"Yes," Winry sighed sharply. "But...he sounded so _sure _of himself."

"What was it?"

"Quicquidlibet," Winry said, stumbling over the word a few times before finally getting it right.

Al laughed once he recognized the word. "Oh! That word! This is hilarious...Winry, _I _taught him that word!" If Al had a working stomach, it'd be cramping from laughter at the sheer incredulity on her face. "I read it in a history book regarding the uprising of this country and I asked him what it meant. He didn't know, neither did I, so we searched through dozens of dictionaries until we found the word. And let me tell you, I was not happy when I found out what it meant," Al sighed. "It sounded like it meant more...but I guess some words could be deceiving."

"Okay, you're killing me," Winry muttered. "What does it mean?"

"'Whatever one pleases,'" Al answered. "or 'anything at all'."

Winry stared.

Al laughed nervously.

"Yeah, well...go tell Edward he's such a quoz."

Alphonse did and was highly amused to find Edward stark-raving mad because he had absolutely no idea what it meant and insisted it wasn't fair game since all she had to do was go to _Central Library_ and search for the word there for a couple of hours...

Winry was right: Ed was an absurd person.

* * *

_**A/N: **_I wanted to be original with this word. So I gave myself the prompt since no one else could come up with something and, while searching for q words that would inspire me, I came about this one and the one-shot wrote itself XD

I think I used it right. I hope I did.

The last word, quoz...I gave you the definition in the last line up there. Feel free to use it to fuck with your friends lol.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	18. R is for Reparations

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**R**_ is for **R**eparations

* * *

Winry hefted the bags in her hand, the plastic handles cutting off circulation. She continued browsing the stores, however, ignoring the sting and merely transferring the bags to her other hand whenever the strain became too much.

She side-glanced Alphonse, who was fixing his hair in the reflection of the mirror. He caught her amused stare and pinked, dropping his hands to his side and looking away from her meekly; embarrassed he had been caught grooming himself _again _by Winry.

She only chuckled and continued down the bustling streets of Rush Valley. They were having sales all over and Winry was in love with the tools she carried in the bags. Despite having her own money, and not using Edward as a human bank, he had offered to pay for all of the things she wanted.

He went beyond that, too.

It was honestly starting to scare her, when he handed her a cup of her favourite tea and smiled friendlily.

She sipped the drink quietly, gazing at some of the metallic limbs displayed on velvet pillows. She frowned, not liking their ridiculous methods of advertisement (_honestly? Automail won't give you superpowers!) _and walked on, grunting as she once again adjusted the bags in her hands.

"H-hey, I'll help carry the bags!" Edward said suddenly, from beside her. He had been mostly quiet after buying her the drink impulsively. She suspected this was because of Al's teasing grins and comments, to which Edward responded with glowering looks and hissing words.

They didn't _have _to walk with her as she wondered downtown Rush Valley. But they had insisted, for some reason, and now they were tailing her as she walked about.

"Oh, no, that's alright!" Winry laughed nervously. "I can carry them fine all by myself! You don't have to—!"

"Just give them to me," Ed persisted briskly. He snatched them from her hands and walked ahead, pointedly ignoring her bewildered eyes.

"What has gotten into him?" Winry whispered to Al, who had watched the scene with that knowing grin on his face. "Ed's never been this..._courteous_ before." She narrowed her eyes. "I don't like it. He wants something, I just know it!"

Al laughed at her paranoia. "Oh, trust me, Winry, this is actually coming from the bottom of his heart."

Winry rose a brow, watching Ed silently gaze at the sky as they walked. "But...I don't get it, why the sudden change of heart? This would've been nice when we were younger, you know," she grumbled under her breath, remembering all the times she had gone to Central City to shop and begged Ed for money. She cleared her throat a little at that. Back then, she used to enjoy leaching Edward dry. But with good intention: it wasn't like he used the money _anyway._

He got paid a hefty salary for his age and he never even used it, the idiot!

"Hmm," Alphonse glanced at his brother, who looked over his shoulder at them and automatically glared at Al when he smiled. He leaned closer to Winry, saying in low tones: "Think of it as a reparation."

"Reparation?" Winry whispered back.

"Yeah, brother feels really bad for leaving you alone all those years while we were on our search for the Philosophers Stone. Plus, all the times he came back with a broken automail and made you cry," Al said, with a friendly smile. "He wants to...compensate."

Winry pressed her lips together to stop a smile and instead upturned her nose. "Humph. He doesn't have to do that, the idiot! He came back alive, didn't he? At least he kept that one promise."

"You mean he didn't keep the others?" Al asked, in a sly tone.

She flushed pink, remembering the uncanny confession at the train station one year ago. Their relationship was a little unstable, with the covet looks they sent each other and awkward moments, but it was getting somewhere; she could feel it.

"Well..._almost all of them_," she whispered, grinning at the idea she just got. "He still hasn't kept one promise."

"What's that?" Al asked, confused, and knowing his brother was paying rapt attention by the way his shoulders tensed.

Winry laughed. "I'm not gonna' tell you! You might tip him off and then all the fun goes to waste!"

Edward glanced quickly over his shoulder, incredulity written all over his face, as Al stared at her for a moment, observing the twinkle in her eye and the wide grin, and felt his own eyes widen with realization.

He also laughed. "Oh, yeah, that's one promise he'll have to fulfill soon, huh? Before its too late!"

"You figured it out?" Winry asked, amused.

"Yep!"

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Ed snapped from ahead, annoyed he was being left out from something, seemingly, important. It was about promises, that was all he knew, and he was very serious about promises.

"Oh, nothing, Ed!" Winry waved off, her smiling warming at the sight of him. "You'll get it eventually...hopefully."

"Don't worry, Win," Al reassured confidently. "I'll beat it into him if he doesn't!"

Winry smiled brightly, increasing her pace and passing by Ed, who followed her with puzzled gold eyes. She glanced to the side, to the large window that offered an insight to the jewelry that twinkled behind the glass. Her eyes flickered to the engagement rings, to one in particular: to a modest ring with a sapphire stone along with a few diamond ones lined up nicely toward the center. It was beautiful, reminded her of her own mothers engagement ring excluding the shimmering sapphire stone, and made her smile fondly in remembrance.

Edward paused, directing his eyes to the ring she had been gazing at, before flashing his eyes back to her, a little narrowed.

The content smile widened a bit more before she stopped looking and she continued on her merry way, humming a made up tune under her breath. He gave the ring one last glance, knowing the image was imprinted in his memory regardless, and pondered why she would even be gazing at engagement rings.

Alphonse watched the silent interaction from behind, his hands in his slacks pockets. The smile on his face only widened when he saw the flicker of realization spark through his brothers eyes, followed by the flush of red on his cheeks as he shook his head and hasted to catch up to Winry; that stubborn thoughtful look still on his face.

Alphonse sighed, chuckling quietly to himself.

Perhaps that would tip him off about the unsaid promise between the two young adults.

* * *

_**A/N: **_Post-Promise Day, of course.

I'm not surprised about the letter prompt I received from my friends. We _were _discussing about World War I and II and Germany came up a lot during the discussion. Then we began to discuss German chocolate and, well, that's when all intellectual stimulus went down the drain...hehe.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	19. S is for Shadows

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet._

* * *

_**S **_is for **S**hadows

* * *

**01: R**iza **H**awkeye

She walked out of the store, a bag of last-minute groceries in her arms. Black Hayate walked beside her, pausing every few steps to sniff objects that caught his interests. She didn't stop, not even for her well-trained dog, and if anyone had the time of day to notice, they would see that she avoided every shadow that crossed her path.

The darkness felt stifling, no longer a soothing absence of light as it had been before, because now she found herself looking over her shoulder every few minutes; flinching at every shifting blob of ink; and wondering if that monsters words still stood, even if she knew for a fact that he was gone along with the other dangerous Homunculi.

"_I'll always be watching you...from the shadows..."_

She picked up her pace, tightened her grip on her bag of groceries and tugging her small pet along simultaneously. She walked under the comforting, yellow, lamp lights and she ignored the looming alleys she walked past.

Her breathing was starting to labor. Her skin felt moist and sticky. Her hold on the leash was deathly while the hold on her groceries was weak to avoid suspicion. The hammer of her heart could drown the nightly city noises as she briskly walked down the sidewalk.

Suddenly, the streetlight she walked under flickered off. The abrupt swallow of darkness froze her in place and she could feel terror run through her veins as she remembered just how frightening it had been to be on the edge; to have Pride's shadows touch her all over – feeling her for weakness and relishing the shivers that gave way to her fear.

Black Hayate whined, as if the permeating darkness also affected him as much as it did her.

Her eyes adjusted to the black and soon she could see enough to know that the next streetlamp was bright and alive and that the lightbulb for this post had just burnt out. It was nothing more than a coincidence. She made a mental note to send a letter to the sector that cared for the city but still didn't move.

A hand clasped on her shoulder and she sucked in a sharp breath, all the flood of restrained terror unleashing at once. Her bag dropped, the hold on Black Hayate's leash snapped when the dog barked at the person, and she shakily reached into her coat to pull out her gun.

But then she remembered Pride could not be defeated by such humanly objects and her hold on the gun became painful.

"Whoa, calm down, Hawkeye! It's only me, Roy!"

She exhaled a shaky breath, dropping her hand to the side weakly. She tried to control the wild beating of her heart; the constant flow of adrenaline that activated her hair-trigger fight or flight mechanism.

"General," she greeted, breathing in deeply through her nose. She needed to calm down. "Please don't do that. I might accidentally shoot you."

Roy laughed nervously. "Right. Sorry. I didn't think I startled you as bad as I did. Are you okay, Hawkeye?"

She offered a weary smile, nodding as she bent down to pick up her fallen groceries. He was right beside her, helping her pick up a few cans and when their hands touched he didn't let go. Riza stared at their hands, unsure of what do to, until he gave a reassuring squeeze.

She raised her eyes, her vulnerable eyes that revealed to him just how scared she had been, and his own hardened with the knowledge that this went deeper than a simple fright.

"How about I walk you home?" Roy said, tone leaving no room for argument. "The streets aren't a very safe place for a lady to walk in by herself."

"I can take care of myself, General," Hawkeye scoffed, standing up with his help and adjusting the bag in her arms. "But thank you for the offer."

"We haven't spoken very much ever since my promotion, have we?" Roy asked rhetorically. His coal eyes locked on hers briefly. "I wonder what I have missed during my absence..."

Riza knew what this meant. Roy Mustang was a smart man; he had figured out that something was terribly wrong with her. A trained military soldier such as her did not frighten easily with a such a simple surprise. In fact, they were beyond the point of being frightened in such mundane ways.

She wondered just how she was going to explain her new fear of shadows.

_("I'll always be watching you...from the shadows.")_

She squeezed her bags and dropped her gaze, stepping close to Roy, who never breathed a word and merely allowed her this small comfort; his hand slipping out of his pocket to rest on the small of her back, gently pushing her along and silently offering the treasure of protection as they walked to her apartment.

* * *

**02**_**: **_**M**ei **C**hang

She knew pain.

Pain was something she was accustomed to in her country. She would walk the moist dirt path to their small hut on the fruitful land and the rain would pour down incessantly upon her body. The leaf she used as an umbrella would offer only so much coverage but she didn't mind it because it was something she was just accustomed to.

Xiao Mei knew pain.

She had been the runt of the litter. She had been looked down upon for her size. She had been shunned by her own kind because of it.

They both knew pain. Two people that knew pain would match well, wouldn't they? This was her reasoning when she kneeled down and patted the small cub, getting bitten in the process but forming a bond that could transcend time.

_He_ knew pain.

_He_ was nothing but a suit of armor with a soul affixed.

But she felt something when his hollow eyes had met hers. It was something that breathed life into her; something that made the whirlwind of conflict inside of her heart vanish when his kind metallic voice rang from its empty shell.

He had saved her more times than she would be able to repay. He had used his own body, however much he needed it, to protect her from danger, and even then he kept going – pushing – to help because he was a decorative talking suit of armor and he used this unfeeling, untouchable, immortal body to its full advantage.

He knew pain but he also knew how to _overcome_ _it_.

Maybe that was why she had been so attracted to him, despite the fact that she didn't even know how he really looked like. She didn't care, to be honest, because he, despite being oblivious to it, was helping her overcome her own pain by showing her how he overcame his and that was more than she deserved.

"When will you be leaving, Alphonse-sama?" she asked, standing by the doorway with her hands clasped behind her back. She watched him rummage through his luggage and look up, a bright smile on his face.

She felt her cheeks heat up a bit but it wasn't noticeable enough, she decided, as Alphonse flicked down the clasps on his worn suitcase. He stood up and stretched, a yawn escaping his lips but his whiskey gold eyes never losing their jubilant sparkle.

"Tomorrow, Mei, remember?" he laughed. "Jeez, you've asked me that over five times already!"

"Uh, sorry," she felt the heat on her cheeks grow worse. She didn't want him to go. It was a selfish request but she really didn't. She felt whole when he was beside her, smiling, laughing, and she hoped he felt the same as he plopped down on his bed and motioned her over as well.

She sat down quietly, her hands resting on her lap modestly, and she looked at him and waited for him to speak.

"Brother asked me to come with him to Rush Valley to visit Winry. You remember her, right?"

"Oh, yes, the girl with the blonde hair and blue eyes," Mei nodded. She was beautiful indeed and it still mortified her that she had been jealous of her relationship with Alphonse when she was a little younger...

"Yeah, brother has something special planned out for her," he muffled a laugh with his hand. She loved the way his eyes lit up. They were so expressive, so liberal and open, and she wondered if there would come a time when she wouldn't be able to look into those pools of rusted gold... "He's so obvious! He completely gave it away when he said that he bought her something from the jewelry shop! It better be what I think it is, don't you agree?"

Mei's lips quirked upward. "If your are implying an engagement band then, yes, I do follow."

Al laughed, his grin knowing no limits on the map of his face. "He thinks he's so sly but he can't even keep his mouth shut! Something tells me he'll screw up the proposal as well and end up making an idiot of himself," he sighed. "But Winry loves him regardless of the fact he's got no tact _or _a sense of timing."

Her smile waned when she noticed the absent look in his eyes. Love. That was something he spoke of constantly. She could tell he was bursting at the seams with joy for his brother but there was something he longed for; she saw it hidden in the depths of his liquor colored eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, brows scrunched together.

"Er, nothing!" Al smiled, a hue of red on his cheeks when his eyes laid on hers.

"Are you sure? You sounded very sad..." she trailed off, knowing she was right when she caught the guilty flash in his eyes. "Do you feel homesick?" It was a stupid question but she needed him to open up more before she delved deeper into the topic.

"Sometimes," he said, "but it's not that; don't worry about it!"

"But I _am _worried about it!" she countered, watching surprise flash in his eyes. "You will not be here for the entire summer! If you leave sad, then it will always be on my mind, Alphonse-sama! I do not want you to leave sad; I want you to leave happy!"

Al was quiet for a moment. He seemed to contemplate something, as his eyes slowly dropped to the floor. She frowned further, knowing this was going to bug her for the entirety of his trip, and was about to coax the answer out of him with promises of chicken stir when he said:

"When I come back..." he started slowly, unsurely, "...would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

She was dumbstuck by the question. In all technicality, they always had their meals together: as she taught him Alkahestry rigorously and he lived in the unused room of the modest home Ran-Fan, her half-brothers guard, had supplied her with on his orders when she visited for a short while before leaving to search for the lost prince with aid of her brother, the last member of her family who still cared for her to some extent.

She figured it was an Amestrian thing and said, with a bright smile: "Of course I would!"

Al jumped, face going red by her enthusiasm, and he looked away quickly; fidgeting with the cuff of his shirt as she continued to smile at him.

"But its such a strange question, don't we always eat together," she mused, not noticing the sudden disbelief on his face. "Or do you mean you will cook dinner this time? Because the last time I allowed you in the kitchen, you burned the pan...even though you fixed it right after."

"Oh! No, no!" Al said quickly, his face growing redder the more she gave him that adorable look of confusion. "I didn't mean it...like that!" He took a deep breath, the determination in his eyes making her heart flutter. "I meant...together."

She stared.

"Just the two of us..."

Something flickered in her eyes.

"_Alone_..."

Her eyes widened. She felt her face grow hot; her chest explode with something beyond words. She stared at Alphonse for a whole minute and he only swallowed and looked away, taking in slow breaths as he waited for her to answer.

"Did you just ask me to marry you?" she squeaked.

Al choked on his saliva. "What? No! No I didn't! I asked you on a date! Er, wait, in Xing does this qualify as a marriage proposal?" Al asked, voice pitched.

Mei nodded very slowly. "You.. you are not familiar with courting in Xing, are you?" She laughed suddenly, covering her mouth as he spluttered something unintelligible. "Alphonse-sama! You must watch what you say! If someone heard you, they might spread unsightly rumors about us or worse!"

"S-so...in Xing there isn't dating then?" he swallowed.

"Oh, there is, but it is considered a meeting with my parents, who do the arranging," she replied. "You see, courting here is vastly different than courting in Amestris. Mostly, Xingese citizens are more concerned over which family will take in their daughter and they usually sell their daughters off to either the highest bidder or the one who will bring the most wealth to the family." She paused. "Sometimes, this is arranged after birth."

Al frowned. "That's horrible. Has that happened to you?" He sounded annoyed, angry even.

Mei froze. "I, uh...I have no parents." She looked down. "My mother died during labor and my father does not wish to be acquainted with me because of my low social status...That is why I will never be married and I will never amount to anything except, perhaps, Alkahestry. Perhaps I may be able to acquire a job at the hospital once my half-brother Ling becomes the Emperor...there is a very low chance I'll be able to do even that if he does not go through with his promise," she smiled, a little painfully, and Al tightened his hands into fists. "I might be daughter to the Emperor but we long since lost his aid. My clan...doesn't really view me as much since I was not able to bring back the secret to immortality...or rather, I never told them." Her eyes lost their gloss. "I...really might never amount to anything."

"Don't say things like that! Don't say you'll never amount to anything!" he snapped, startling Mei. He got closer, his eyes angerly boring into her own. "Mei, you're not some object that could be sold to anyone! You're a human being and you deserve to be treated as one! You're beautiful and you're intelligent and you've got the best Alkahestry skills I have seen since I arrived in this country nearly a year ago!" he shouted. "So don't say you'll never marry: anyone would be lucky to have you! And never say you'll never amount to anything: you can accomplish _anything _if you set your mind to it!" He panted after the ranting speech, cheeks flushed red from exertion.

Mei stared, shaken to the core, and felt her eyes water. Soon, she was freely crying and Alphonse was smiling, his hand hesitantly outstretched for her as she shook.

"Th-thank you, Alphonse-sama!" she cried and thew herself into his welcoming arms, crying into his shirt as he gently wrapped his arms around her and patted her back; whispering soothing words into her ear as she sobbed and squeezed him tightly; hoping to never let go as their time together grew shorter and shorter with every breath.

* * *

**03:**_** R**_an **_F_**an

The wind from the open field ruffled her hair. She rose a hand to touch the hood of her black cloak, tugging it down so it did not fly back with the winds currents. The night was quiet and dark, calm and moving, as always. The sky was dark that night, the moon hidden behind a veil of mist that rose from the mountains below it. There were no stars in the grand expanse, not even a glisten in the distance, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the soothing sway of the world.

"Ran Fan," a voice came from beside her. She opened her eyes, not the least bit startled by her comrades sudden appearance. "We must continue our trek east – the Emperor is expecting our arrival within the next two weeks."

"What is the point, Lanzhou?" she asked, voice like steel. "We have lost the young prince – we have absolutely no idea where he is or with whom he is traveling to guide us. It is pointless to assume we will be spared the Emperor's wrath if we do return."

"Don't talk foolishness!" Lanzhou snapped, fully turning to his comrade. "Are you saying we should betray our nation and disobey the Ruler's orders?"

Ran Fan lowered her eyes, shame flooding her previous bitterness. "No...No, forgive me. I spoke out of place."

Lanzhou's eyes softened. He patted her shoulder, her metallic shoulder, his only form of comfort, and said: "We will be leaving at the break of dawn. Rest, the desert will show no mercy to stragglers."

"I understand." A gust of wind overshadowed her comrades departure and she was left in silence once more. There was a fear inside of her, festering and growing, and it only worsened when she looked up into the sky again and she saw no light.

_("I'm sorry, you must be a friend of this guy. But I'm Greed, not Ling.")_

She tightened her grip on the drawstrings of her inner jacket and mediated for a few moments to calm the wave of rage and grief. The young master had sacrificed himself in order to bring wealth and prosperity and well-being to his people. If anyone deserved to be the future Emperor of Xing, it was him.

Ran Fan's eyes flew open and she instantly reached into the holster on her thigh to pull out a kunai. She gripped it with ease, pivoting on her heel and raising it to defend herself. She purposely used her automail arm, raising it in a way that would detonate the sheering knife hidden within the elbow compartment of her arm should push come to shove.

"Who is there? Show yourself!" She sank into stance, taking a step forward when she felt this persons chi was normal. Perhaps it was just a regular bandit, she thought, but still did not lower her guard.

"Ran Fan, lower your weapon. It's only me."

Her eyes widened with surprise and she instantly let the knife fall to her side. She stared at the face of Ling Yao, her prince, as he stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light. He looked no different than he did before he consumed the liquid that would prove him immortal, save for the black clothes and the lines of sleeplessness that marked under his eyes.

She abruptly remembered that the creature had been sucked out of him during the battle with Father. That was why his aura was normal. They had gotten separated soon after and she had to continue forth, leaving Mei behind in a better home than her previous one and returning to Amestris to search for her lost Lord...she still had the vial of Philospher Stone with her. She just needed Ling to take it and prove to his brothers and sisters that he deserves the throne.

"Y-Young Master!" she stammered, bowing down to her knee to show him proper respect. "You have returned! Thank goodness! Are you wounded?"

"Stand up, Ran Fan," he smiled. "You don't have to bow down to me so stiffly! I suppose it really has been this long, hasn't it?"

She quickly stood, abiding her princes' commands, and smiled for the first time in what seemed to be ages for her. "Yes...Young Lord, we must bring you back to Xing immediately!" Her voice changed from grateful to no-nonsense.

"Oh, yes, about that—!"

"The Emperor has requested your presence within the Royal Palace! This is your chance to prove to him and all of your brothers and sisters that you deserve the throne! My Lord, if we do not hurry others might—!"

"Relax, Ran Fan!" Ling waved dismissively. "How about we have something to eat first, then we speak of this stuffy business?"

Ran Fan blinked, his words sinking into her brain. She shouted, frustratingly: "Young Lord! Please forgive me but...YOU _IDIOT_! How can you think of _food _at such a critical moment such as now? You can have all the food you want once we return to Xing and settle the disputes between the Royal Bloodlines!"

"Whaaa, how scary!" Ling shivered, rubbing his arms as her glare grew chilling. "I have forgotten how demanding you can be sometimes!"

"Young—!"

"Ling Yao!" Lanzhou landed beside him, head bowed in respect. "You have returned, I see. This is spectacular news – now we may carry on forth to Xing with no further complications."

"Oh, well if it isn't Lanzhou of the Chang House!" Ling chirped cheerfully. "How have you been?"

Lanzhou smiled, relieved the Young Lord had returned to them safely. "Ling Yao, I—!"

Ling's growling stomach cut him off. He laughed nervously, rubbing his belly. "Can we continue this after a meal? I'm starving!"

Lanzhou merely shook his head with a smile. The young man hadn't changed much in the years he had known him. He didn't understand what this whole 'immortality' and 'greed' thing meant when Mei Chang, his sister, had returned to them after so many years of absence.

He had been contacted by Ran Fan and begged by his sister to assist in searching for Ling Yao. They had only searched for a few days and he was relieved; Ran Fan had looked as if she had given up hope, as the current Emperor was already going to choose the successor of the throne.

"Of course, I shall begin a feast immediately!" He disappeared in a swirl of air and Ling turned to Ran Fan, who was staring glumly at the floor. The careless mask Ling had previously displayed replaced with a more serious expression, as he stepped forward.

Ran Fan gasped when she felt the young Lords hand upon the crown of her head. He ruffled her hair a little but she didn't care as she looked up into his content black eyes.

"You know the right to the throne is practically mine, correct?" She nodded, swallowing as Ling let his hand drift from the top of her head to her shoulder. Her metallic shoulder. He squeezed the top of the port, the corners of his lips upturning in a warm smile. "And you understand that once I am Emperor of the nation of Xing...I will make many changes, correct?"

"Yes, my Lord," she smiled, grateful for the reassurance.

"My first order...abolishing the polygamous tendencies many of the past Emperors have instilled within our country."

Her eyes grew wide and she looked up, whispering: "But, my Lord, that would mean—!"

"Yes, instead of having a dozen heirs from different bloods to a throne there will be only one. Or two, or three, it depends on how many the wife I plan to take can bear," he beamed and her smile slowly faded. She looked back down, a sick emotion setting in the pit of her stomach. The twist in her heart she had grown accustomed to too many times was back. It was no different than before but it felt final now; as if the pain in her chest would forever be etched.

"I see. Then perhaps you should begin your quest, my Lord, there must be a high tally of women who are fit to rule by your side." She stood straight, conscious her left arm was composed of steel and wires. She was very aware that she had been out of the competition for his affections long before he ever told her this.

She was damaged and if that did not count her out, her bloodline would. She came from a family that was well-respected due to their service to the Royal Family but she was not enough to rule alongside a King. She closed her eyes, the pain in her chest nearly unbearable. "You should begin with the Zhengzhou family, I hear that they have many well-trained daughters—"

"Oh, dear, have I been rejected already?" Ling whined. Ran Fan froze. "You didn't even let me get to that part! And I spent two whole nights rehearsing it so it would be perfect! You're such a spoil sport sometimes, Ran Fan..."

"Y-Young.." she choked, raising her flesh hand to cover her mouth. She felt her eyes sting and her shoulders shake. His hand fell from her shoulder and grasped her own, taking it off her mouth so he could hear the shaky, hoarse, cries come from her throat.

If this was some sick joke, some twisted dream, she hoped it would never end so she could bask in the warmth that had wound around the icy fronts of her heart as Ling brought her into his arms.

* * *

**04**_**: W**_inry **_R_**ockbell

She shut the oven with a snap and straightened out, cracking her back and releasing a content sigh of relief. She tugged off her mittens and hung them on the hook above her oven. The day was reaching its high point in the sky, as the sun beat down upon the land.

Rush Valley was just as sweltering and dry as it had always been; nothing had changed aside from the sudden influx of citizens and shops. Winry walked to the kitchen table, sitting down and pushing away the clutter of metal that sat atop it. The neutrality of the past few days was catching up to her in the form of an imminent breakdown as a sweet smell wafted from the oven. She sunk into the seat, resting her cheek against her arm as she gazed at the gleam the metal gave off in front of her.

Edward and Alphonse were gone again, unsurprisingly. They had been gone for the past six months and they had not once contacted her. They were out on either side of her: one to the east, one to the west. She knew that they were once again putting themselves in danger and she thought that it was a stupid, naïve, idea that she believed they would come back and everything would be normal again.

Once you crossed that path, tasted its air, felt its sunlight and darkness, there was no turning back. She had tasted that land once before. She had experienced the rush and thrill; she had experienced the sweetness of victory and the bitterness of defeat. But she retreated from the path, took the fork to the left and never looked back.

They weren't so lucky. Or maybe they weren't so afraid. She still couldn't figure it out.

But she was certain they were once again being put in danger and it was bothering her that _he_ hadn't returned with at least an automail malfunction of some sort. Edward still had his metal leg to maintain despite his arm being fully restored as a result of the battle against Father.

"Oh, the bills..." Winry whispered, forcing herself out of the cloud of gloom. She swiped up the envelopes she had laid out neatly on the edge of the table and paused, glancing back at the oven. She wouldn't take very long but...Winry shook her head, knowing she still had at least an hour before she had to take out the delicious pastry. It would be another day of eating it all by herself.

The shadows stretched long and far as she walked down the dusty streets of Rush Valley. The sun beat down on her harshly, irritating her skin and tiring her out. She stopped a lot to greet a few known clients, a couple of friendly neighbors that were taking a midday stroll. By the time she reached the Water & Power offices it had been little more than an hour. She paid quickly, thankful for the short line, and ran back with no interruptions.

The ground was bumpy and rough with every step. Sweat trailed down her neck and glazed her forehead. She could feel her clothes start to stick to her frame, as the sweat soaked straight through them. But she didn't stop, not even when her lungs started to burn and her sides stitched from the abrupt sprint.

It felt liberating to run.

It felt as if she were running away from all her anger, her worry, her fear for _his_ safety, her terror of losing _him_ just as she almost did all those times ago.

Because those shadows in her heart were staring to take over and if she didn't do something about them soon they'd consume her with their lies.

When she burst through her door, she didn't notice it had been open in the first place. It was as if she were looking through tunnel vision, as she pushed away the hair plastered on her skin. She rushed to the oven and threw it open, expecting the giant cloud of black smoke that would signal the burning of a pie, but instead she was met with nothing.

Literally, nothing.

She looked up and to the window, which was open. She slowly walked to it, her eyes locked on the pie left out to air. A spark of fright lit within her for a moment, when she heard footsteps come from the living room.

"Hey, Win—WHOA! IT'S ONLY ME!"

She stopped , frozen, a wrench over her head, when her eyes met with gold.

Edward grinned nervously, holding his hands out in peace. "Uh, sorry for just walking in here like this but it was _really _hot outside and my leg was killing me, so, uh, no harm done, right?"

"Pardon the intrusion, Winry," Al pipped from behind Edward, a little shorter than his elder brother, and smiling brightly. His face had regained some of its weight, giving the appearance of a healthy eighteen year old boy instead of the emancipated look he had previously donned.

"Oh. Oh, it's just you guys..." she sighed in relief, lowering her wrench.

Edward's shoulders relaxed.

"But that still doesn't excuse you from walking into my house without my permission!" she shrieked, raising her wrench back up in a flash and throwing it, nailing Ed right in the head without so much as a flaw. The boy squawked in surprise and stumbled back, bumping into Al, who quickly scampered out of the way as his big brother fell on his back and nursed an aching head.

"This...was the one thing I never missed..." Ed mourned, eyes shut in pain.

"Brother, are you okay?" Al snapped his head to Winry, who was slowly approaching them. "We're sorry Winry! We should have called in advance and we're probably bothering you but—!" He stopped rambling when she dropped on her knees and brought him into a tight hug.

Edward groaned as he sat up, still holding his throbbing head, but smiled at his brothers soft smile. Winry reached for Edward, grabbing him by his collar and bringing him into the embrace as well. He fell forward clumsily, cheeks tinting red when she tightly held onto him.

"Welcome back you two," she whispered, her eyes stinging a little.

Ed rose his eyes to Al, who was grinning slyly. Alphonse wiggled his brows at Winry, none-too-subtly motioning toward her with his hand. Edward shot him a nasty look and mouthed 'stop it!'. But Al only pouted and, cunningly, wiggled his way out of Winry's grasp and pushed her into his brother.

Ed gasped, pointing an accusing finger at his mischievous younger sibling, with one hand around her shoulders to steady her. She only sighed, catching the very soft curses coming from Ed and fragments of giggles coming from the younger Elric.

She had an idea of what happened and only chuckled softly, sitting back on her knees.

Ed's face colored pink when he caught her bright smile.

"You guys are finally back! What the heck have you two—!" The phone rang, cutting her off. She frowned, annoyed, and stood up, walking to her room. "Wait a sec. Oh, and makes yourselves at home! Don't touch any of the automail's, alright, I haven't had any time to clean up the house!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

When she answered the phone, ignoring the bumps and thumps coming from the living room that told her the brothers were roughhousing, she heaved a sigh and dragged the phone cord with her to the kitchen.

"Mr. Johnson, _again_? I checked your 'mail almost a month ago and its already acting up?" she sighed in exasperation, cradling the phone using her shoulder. If only he would transfer to her automail, then he'd never experience problems again! "It's the leaver thing – yes, that one! Pull it back—slowly, it might jolt—yeah, that. Now push it back quickly! Don't do it slowly since you've already messed with the nerves! You got it? Good. Try not to move it too much and come over here as fast as possible so I can take a good look at it." She glanced at Ed and Al, the eldest which was glaring daggers into the giggling youngest.

She caught Ed's eye and quickly looked away when a question caught her off guard on the other line.

Winry laughed, running her hand down her face in exasperation. "No, Mr. Johnson, I will not marry you for the fifth time! You're four times my senior! That's just not right!" She giggled into the receiver, overlooking the horrified expression Ed got at her words. "Good bye, I have guests I have to tend to! Yes, immediately; I think you messed up your automail ejection lever. Bye." She hung up and sighed, rubbing away droplets of sweat from her forehead.

"What was that all about, Winry?" Al asked curiously.

"Yeah! What the hell is this about _marriage_?"

"Calm down, Ed!" Winry rolled her eyes. "It's just Mr Johnson, a client of mine. He's sixty something so you can guess my answer before anything. He got a little obsession with me the first time he came to my store," she laughed nervously.

Edward sneered, possessively.

"Backwards old goat," he scowled. "How the hell can you continue working on him when you know _that_?"

"Money is money," Winry laughed as Alphonse shook his head and Ed let his jaw drop. "Any who, I can't refuse service for such a petty thing like that. It's not like he's forcing me or anything and now its more of a joke between friends. Although, if I did have a ring on my finger he might stop popping the question at public places," she thought aloud, causing Al to sneakily look at Ed. "_That's _really awkward, you know."

"I bet it is, Win," Al said, still looking at his brother. "If only you weren't single..."

Edward caught his look and sent him a nasty look. "She _isn't _single, Al," he answered snidely.

"He doesn't know that," Al pointed out before Winry could say anything.

Winry sighed, giving Ed a warm smile at his obvious jealousy. It was cute to watch sometimes. "Yeah...But I doubt that'll happen any time soon so it's just something I have to live with."

"I'm not so sure about that..." Al whistled as he skipped into the kitchen, Winry's puzzled gaze following him out. She turned to Ed, who was literally shaking with rage, and asked: "What's up with him?"

"My fist will be when I'm through with him!" Ed threatened, raising his gloved hand to prove his point. "ALPHONSE! Get back here you little—!" He dashed into the kitchen.

Winry winced when she heard something crash to the floor.

She didn't even want to think about what they had demolished this time.

Her eyes strayed to the apple pie sitting outside the window, cooling off. The apple pie promise seemed to stand even now, as the two brothers fought each other in her kitchen. She allowed a small smile to brief her face, as she walked toward the pie and carefully took it off the sill.

A warm apple pie would always be waiting for them, no matter how long they took. And when they came back and feasted, recuperating their health and showing her they had once again survived life's strife's, the shadows which iced her heart would break and light would shine through once more.

* * *

_**A/N: **_I give up! I cannot reread this story again! Its pretty long, as you can see, because this was something I wrote a long time ago; before I even thought about posting up an Alphabet collection. It was suppose to be a one-shot I'd just randomly post up but then I found room for it in this collection xD Initially it was suppose to be a Royai one-shot...but then I decided to add Mei, Ran Fan, Winry... and then it became this lol.

I think I made it clear that there is a connection between the girls...if not, well, there is lol.

I know Mei is a princess but technically she's still impoverished until Ling takes over the thrown. So, until, then, she's under the usual rules of Xing I made up on the spot :D And the whole 'marriage' thing was...well, it's probably not accurate and I am aware of this, but I assume that since Xing is still a monarchy, arranged marriages FTW XD Enough said.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	20. T is for Telephone

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**T **_is for **_T_**elephone

* * *

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

"Hello, Rockbell Automail, Winry Rockbell speaking."

"Hey! Winry! How've you been?"

A suspicious frown.

An audible gulp.

"Ed? Is that really you?"

"Duh, who else would it be?"

"Did you break something? Because I swear on my wrench that if you're calling me to tell me that you've busted up your arm again you're going to be in so much trouble when I see you!"

"I didn't break my arm, woman! It's functional—look!"

The sound of gears.

The creak of metal.

The crunch of pressure.

"Hmm...fine, I'll buy it. But if your arm's alright, then why are you calling?"

"Can't a guy call his mechanic without being questioned?"

"No, because you've never done it before. What's the difference this time, huh?"

A nervous laugh.

A finger twisting around the telephone cord.

A throat clearing.

"Ed? I'm waiting."

"...A couple of days ago, when I entered Mustang's office, he shoved a letter in my hand. It turned out to be an exclusive invitation for the Military Gala held every year toward the start of winter season. Taking into consideration my dilemma with the, ah, research I'm doing, I threw it away and forgot about it...but it turned out to be mandatory so..."

Silence.

"Ed...are you asking me out?"

A hitch in breath.

A raised brow.

Unintelligible rambling.

A soft giggle.

"You overreact a lot, has anyone ever told you that? Of course I'd go with you. When is it?"

"Uh...well..you see, that's the funny part."

"Ed..?"

"It's sort of...tomorrow at six?"

"_TOMORROW?_ YOU CALL ME ONE DAY BEFORE A BALL AND EXPECT ME TO BE _READY?_ JUST WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR, YOU IDIOT?"

"You overact a lot, has anyone ever told you that?"

"EDWARD!"

"YIKES!"

Whimpering.

Enraged breathing.

A gulp.

A growl.

"Sorry?"

"Ugh. Fine. Whatever. You are _so _lucky I don't have any appointments set for tomorrow or else you'd be in some real hot water, Edward!"

A huff.

Breath of relief.

"Thank you, Winry! I owe you one!"

"Damn right you do! I'll take the early train to Central. You'll meet me there, right?"

"Yep!"

"Great."

"Yeah, great."

Awkward silence.

"Soo...uh, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, okay...bye."

"Bye."

Click.

A sigh.

Fingers tapping against wood.

A small smile.

"Granny? Clear my schedule for tomorrow – I'm going to Central to meet up with Ed!"


	21. U is for Universally Known

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet._

* * *

_**U**_ is for **U**niversally Known

* * *

She shouldn't have been so surprised.

They were known throughout Amestris as the Elric Brothers and recognized by Edward's trademark braid (or just bright gold eyes) and flashy red coat as well as the giant suit of armor that followed the smaller of the two wherever he tread. Of course, now that Al had his body back most people asked him why he wore such a flashy thing in the first place.

Needless to say, Ed took great pleasure in watching his little brother stutter out a half-assed excuse they'd eat up every single time.

She just wished he wasn't so _arrogant _when people recognized him and, for once, managed to pick the right brother. His face had lit up like a thousand fireworks and though she had been endeared by the gigantic grin and haughty "that's right! _I'm _the Full Metal Alchemist!" it got old and annoying after a while.

Especially when people continued to stop them on the streets almost _endlessly_. She sighed frustratingly, leaning against the display glass of a store and watching Edward talk amicably to an older man. Alphonse was speaking in polite tones, no doubt, with the mans wife, who curiously gazed to and fro Edward and exclaimed something that made both brothers burst out laughing.

She felt irritated by the attention they received. It wasn't like she wanted that type of attention, heavens no, but she _did _want to reach that clothing store and buy that shirt she had been eying for the past few days. It was a simple trip to the store! Why couldn't they just politely squeeze their way out of conversation and be on their merry way already?

The couples daughter, it seemed, had also taken a liking toward Edward. The flirty smile and big, green, eyes that gazed at him rather dreamily made something nasty brew in her stomach. This only ratcheted the irritation, especially when the girl took a step closer to him and touched his right arm, saying something she couldn't hear.

Edward merely shook his head and rose his sleeve, showing her a flesh right hand. The girl gasped, in what she noted with glaring eyes, was fake-surprise and proceeded to grab his hand in hers.

She very nearly marched up to her and tore her hand off his! She had no damn right to touch him like they were together or something! And why wasn't he letting her hand go?

Oh, great, he thought it was _platonic_, judging by the breezy expression in his face,.

_Way to be denser than a rock, you stupid runt! _she shouted in her head, nearly screaming it out loud when the girls hand tightened around his...oh _now_ he noticed it wasn't meant as a friendly squeeze.

Dumbass.

She harrumphed.

_Oh, she is so lucky I hate causing scenes, _she seethed. She swallowed up the ugly jealousy that had dared to rear its head and continued walking down the street with, she assumed, steam coming out of her ears. She was sure she was stomping, actually, and controlled her walking so it wasn't so obvious that she was enraged.

She just wanted a stupid shirt! Just _one _shirt! Was that so bad?

But that family had to go muck up her day!

She ignored the calls from behind her, just wanting to go into the store up ahead and buy the damn shirt already, and hurried inside the store, a little smug as the calls were muted by the doors.

The store looked expensive, displaying various tantalizing articles of clothing she had a little temptation to go try out. But she came here for one shirt and one shirt only. Her eyes quickly scanned the racks as she walked and she smiled when she found it.

It was a rather simple shirt. It was just a red and black flannel, short-sleeved, shirt. It was short, reaching above her belly-button, but comfortable and she was able to work in it without fearing it would catch on something, like her drill.

She liked coming to this store to buy those shirts; the colors didn't fade by the third wash and the material was actually pretty durable. Her eyes strayed up and she saw, to her disappointment, Alphonse walking to the store.

Edward was nowhere to be seen.

She squeezed the shirt in her hand, feeling that nasty emotion give her heartburn, and huffed, snapping her head to the side where she eyed a rather short leather skirt. She guessed she should be a little grateful.

At least _one_ brother took her feelings into consideration...

"Hey, Winry, why'd you run off like that?" Al asked, concernedly.

"I just really wanted to buy this shirt, Al," Winry responded, crisply. "You two were taking so long so I just decided to go on my own."

"Oh," Al squinted at her, noticing her tense shoulders and jerky moves. He couldn't see her face but he knew something was bothering her. "Can I see the shirt?"

"Sure," she handed it to him a bit stiffly and resumed to browsing through the rack of skirts; all, of which, caught her interest. This store was seriously addicting...

"Hey, don't you have one of these at home, Winry?"

"I do but that ones getting too old. I also tore a hole through it with my drill."

"Drill?" Al repeated, alarmed. "Did you get hurt anywhere?"

"No, I'm fine!" she laughed, feeling the tension slowly unwind. "It didn't manage to catch me. It fell on the chair and my shirt was thrown over the back so it caught it and tangled it." she sighed. "It was my favourite, too, but I guess I'll just have to make do with this." She grabbed the shirt back and added: "I'll be in the dressing room, okay? I won't take long."

"Um, sure!"

She hurried in and shut the door behind her. She leaned against it, sighing sadly. She really shouldn't be surprised by the amount of fame and glory he had attained over the years. She just never really thought of what type of _attention _he might receive along with that fame.

She had never really thought of Ed liking someone. The thought itself was hilarious – that kid was about as smooth as sandpaper! But it was one of his charms, being sarcastic and bluntly honest, and she liked him for that.

Not many girls would find his jokes funny or even get them: _"hey, Al, how can you tell which bottle in the bathroom contains the PMS medicine?" _

"_How?"_

"_It's the one with the dent marks around the cap."_

"_I'll show you dent marks!"_

"_IT WAS A JOKE—!"_

She laughed about later, once he was nice and unconscious so as not to swell up his ego...

But Edward with another girl?

Somehow, someway, she always knew they had..._something_...together, so she had never worried about it. The tension in the air between them whenever they were alone or merely standing beside one another was something that couldn't be shrugged off or ignored. Anyone who met them would automatically know something was off about them; something was a little different between them.

She could prove this because they usually got this contemplative look on their faces. Then they'd comment that they made such a cute couple. This triggered the outbursts out "he's not my boyfriend!"/"she's not my girlfriend!" that sounded in unison; making it just a jumble of words no one could understand.

She slipped on the skirt she had snatched before going in the dressing room and checked herself in the mirror. It didn't look so bad. It reminded her of the black skirt she usually wore...only this one was leather and a bit shorter than the other one.

She had on her black jacket and white tank top combo, too, which made her smile as she appeared a little...bad ass.

_Huh, maybe I should buy it, _she mused, liking how she appeared. She had worn denim Capri's that day so the black jacket, white tank top, and rugged working boots matched along with the short leather skirt fit quite nicely...

_Screw the shirt! _Winry grinned. _I'm so getting _this _skirt! _She pushed open the door and told Al: "How do I look?" but stopped short when she noticed Ed beside Al, sipping what seemed to be soda and holding an extra cup in his hand, which she assumed was hers by the way he thrust it in front of him for her to take.

Al hand his own cup in his hand. "You look great Winry! It looks wonderful on you," he answered honestly. "But, um, don't you think it's a little short?" He just noticed the length when she turned.

She eyed herself in the mirror. "...Nah."

"What're you talking about?" Ed spoke up, after swallowing some soda. He lowered the cup he had bought her and frowned. He eyed the length, too, noticing that if she even _walked _the wrong way it would give view to her panties. In fact, dear Truth, he thought he could see them already! "That things _wayyy_ too short! Don't buy it," he advised flatly.

"Why not?" she frowned. "I think it looks great on me!" She touched the leather. "And I've always worn short skirts, don't you remember? My other black one?"

Ed snorted. "As if _that _was short! That was actually decent compared to this! Do you wanna' go looking like that girl over there?" He motioned behind him, to the girl who had been getting too touchy-touchy with him a while ago. She noticed the couple were window-shopping as the girl sighed and looked around; no doubt searching for a mop of golden hair.

His comment had definitely made her feel better.

So he didn't like her.

Fantastic for her! She didn't need to go scare some girl senseless!

"I would not look like her, you jerk! I look way better anyway," she added loftily then smirked at his rather surprised face. She stuck her hip out and rested a hand on her waist: "Admit it, I make this thing look good!" She flashed him a cheeky grin.

Edward gawked at her shamelessness, cheeks burning.

Al laughed.

"I'm buying it! Al, put that shirt back I'm taking this skirt instead!"

"NO! Take the shirt instead! That—wait a sec, gimmie that shirt, Al!"

"Bro-_ther_!"

"What's up with this _shirt_? Its like someone hacked a saw through it – where's the rest of it?"

"It's _suppose_ to be like that, Ed."

"You're not buying this either!"

"You can't stop me from buying what I want! It's _my_ money!"

"C'mon, Winry!" Ed whined, balling the shirt in his hands and throwing it over his shoulder moodily. Alphonse shot his brother a look and picked the shirt up, un-wrinkling it and hanging it where it belonged. "If you know what's good for you, you won't buy slutty crap like this!"

Winry's brows shot up. "Oh _ho,_ so now I'm slutty, am I? Thank you _so much _for giving me that little piece of information, Edward, now I know _just_ how you view me!" she sneered sarcastically, slightly stung by his word choice

"No—wait—I didn't mean it like that, okay?" Ed hastily took back. "You're _not _slutty! You're far from it! I'm just saying that buying a skirt like that's too..."

"Too what brother?" Al asked, slyly.

Ed cleared his throat. "Too revealing. It'd attract unwanted attention. That's all."

Winry eyed him. His face was a light shade of pink but he held her gaze determinedly. There was that slight downturn of his lips, showing his irritation at her stubbornness, as well as the way his right flesh hand clenched reflexively at his side. She saw him glance side-ways and glare brutally right after.

She checked to the side and noticed there was a small band of guys peering through the window and grinning at her; giving her thumbs up as she stood in full view for them. One of them gave her the universal sign for 'call me' and she heard a guttural growl emit from Ed's throat.

She glanced back at Ed, who looked just about ready to tear their heads off, and then at Al, who kept his lips pressed tightly together and looked off in another direction; no doubt concealing giggles at his brothers blatant jealousy.

She smiled.

"I'm still buying this skirt," she announced. Edward snapped his head to her, mouth open to rebut, when she added: "Don't worry. I'll only wear it at home," she smiled brightly. "You, Al, and granny'll be the only one's who'll see me in it, anyway, so whats the big deal?" She laughed as she walked back into the dressing room, oblivious to the exasperated smile on his face as he watched her close the door.

* * *

**A/N: **I really hated this one-shot. I have no idea why but I do. I reread it so many times and I tried to fix it an equal number of times but it still didn't...come out how I wanted it to. I contemplated just deleting it and starting over again but when I tried that on a separate document, the ideas I wrote down just didn't match up to what I had in mind either. Ack, I'm so unsatisfied for some reason XD

_Scarlett._


	22. V is for Voluptuous

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**V **_is for **V**oluptuous

* * *

Edward sipped his cold drink, as he laid back on the beach towel strewn on the sandy floor. His automail leg was basking under the hot summer sun, starting to cause him pain as it had a nasty habit of concentrating heat and thus making it nearly impossible to walk with, but he ignored it for the time being.

The large umbrella stuck to the ground next to him offered enough shade, as he let his book fall on his exposed chest. He sighed in relief, the sounds of the oceans waves and seagulls flying overhead calming him in a way he never thought possible.

He could hear Alphonse laugh along with Mei, no doubt splashing each other in the warm sea water. Edward let this small interaction slide – only because his brother had never once felt the sea water upon his skin. The way his face had lit up, like a thousand blazing suns, was enough to show Edward that he was, indeed, enjoying his restored body to the fullest.

"Full Metal, is this all you're going to do the whole day?" a disappointed voice came from above him. Edward resisted a groan of annoyance."Lounge around like some lazy cat?"

"What's so bad about that?" Ed grumbled. "I think I deserve it, don't you?"

Instead of the snarky reply he expected, all he got was a soft chuckle and: "For once, I think you do, Full Metal."

Edward cracked an eye open, leaning to the side to catch sight of his superiors friendly face. It wasn't often you caught Roy Mustang with such an unguarded expression, so for Edward to witness the almost paternal warmth on his face was enough to cause him anxiety.

He didn't know how to handle a nice Roy.

"Where's Hawkeye?" Ed changed the subject.

Mustang smirked. "In the changing room, along with Miss Rockbell." He peered down at Ed, smile turning leery. "It should be a sight to see, hmm? Two beautiful girls walking out at the same time...don't get too excited, you brat."

Ed spit his drink out, coughing as he choked on some of it. "Wh-what the hell, you perverted bastard! Shut the hell up before I knock your lights out!"

"Humph," Roy upturned his nose, that insufferable smirk still on his handsome face. "I was only giving you a piece of advice."

"Yeah, well, go shove your advice where it matters," Ed replied snidely.

"Here they come," Mustang purred, his coal eyes roving Hawkeye's body shamelessly. The woman noticed this and stiffened, tightening the white shawl she had wrapped around her hips. Her skin was pale, hair a fair blonde; a large contrast to the mass of tan bodies and black hair that dominated the expanse of the beach. "Well, well, Full Metal, I must say, you sure have all the luck with women despite being a half-pint. Miss Rockbell isn't half bad..."

Ed's eyes flew open and he felt something nasty burn in his chest. It was a scathing, rather possessive, emotion that crawled up his throat and had him in a spitting rage. "You better watch what you say, Roy," Ed replied roughly, mouth twisting into a snarl. "I _really _have no problem knocking out a few of those pearly whites of yours..."

Roy chuckled good naturedly. "At ease, Full Metal, I'm not going to go steal your girlfriend. I have my sights on a bigger prize," his eyes went back to Hawkeye, who was speaking in soft tones to Winry as they slowly made their way toward their spot on the beach.

"Tch," Ed sneered, propping himself up on his elbows. "Why don't you just leave me alone. I don't want your lecherous ways to rub off on me, Mustang."

"No problem," Roy muttered distractedly, amused by the boys jealousy, and walked over to the two women, grinning something stupid out by the way Ed saw Hawkeye stride forward and smack him upside the head without a single sign of hesitation fleeting her face.

Edward shuddered.

Hawkeye could be frightening sometimes.

"Hey, Ed, how do I look?" Winry beamed, bouncing in front of him. Edward finally managed to notice the blonde and felt his blood stop cold in his veins. The glass in his hand nearly shattered under the pressure, as all the blood began to rush to the one area of his body he _did not _want it to go to.

_H-holy shit. _

He swallowed, thickly, strangling out: "Y-you look fine...just fine. Why do y...you ask?"

Winry frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "No reason, I was just asking. I'm not used to wearing stuff like this..." She mumbled the last bit, catching sight of Al and Mei and waving at them. "I'll be back!" A smile broke on her face and she quickly ran into the water, squealing as the water shocked her for a moment.

Edward followed her with his eyes the entire way. He could feel his face turn a terrible shade of red and he tore his gaze away from her body. It wasn't right to just openly gaze at Winry like that! He had more respect for her than that. He wasn't like Mustang or any other of those other equally perverted officers he usually saw on a monthly basis.

Against his will, his eyes flicked back to Winry, to the skimpy, sky blue, bikini she wore. He would say it was sin to wear something that tight. The top was was an exact fit, squeezing her already rather large bust in and causing them to bump upward. The bottom portion was a little better – at least it covered _all_ of her bottom unlike like others he had seen – but the outfit held no dissimilarities to a pair of underwear and bra!

There was also the issue with the curvaceous body she had been blessed with...

_Calm down, Elric! _Edward chided himself, tearing his gaze away and quickly sitting up. He was glad for the loose shorts now as they didn't feel so loose anymore. His eyes strayed toward Mustang, who glanced at him and smirked smugly.

_Don't let him know he was right! _Edward shouted inwardly, glaring at him in return. He sat cross-legged, playing it cool although what he really wanted to do was jump into the water and _really _cool himself down.

He downed his drink instead, sighing and gazing back out into the water.

It wasn't like he would be able to swim, anyway. He didn't know how and his automail leg prevented it. Winry had strictly told him not to go into the water as long water exposure could short out some of the wires in his mechanical limb or cause malfunctions.

"Are you going to spend all your time under an umbrella, Ed? Seriously?" Winry sighed from above him.

Ed snapped his head up and nearly had a stroke.

His eyes shakily flickered right, to where he last saw Mustang, and he was relieved to see the man no longer there. Instead, he caught sight of his distancing backside as he walked along-side Hawkeye back toward the block of souvenir stores far ahead.

Good. At least he didn't have to face his smug face if he caught him blatantly checking her out.

"Why can't I just lie here all day?" Ed grumbled, lowering his eyes to her toned legs.

He decided she wouldn't notice, the umbrella was shielding part of her face and thus all of his, so he let his eyes trail very slowly up her legs and to her flat stomach. He trailed the clear curve on her waist that led to the two swells that were clearly perked from the cool waters she had taken a dip in. They lingered there, as thoughts of how little she left for the imagination filled his head.

He could clearly imagine her breasts without the top.

Then again, he wasn't really a stranger to them.

He wondered if maybe spending all that time during his younger years with one Roy Mustang had affected him enough to turn him into some kind of pervert...

_Oh great, _Ed thought dully. _It's too late. Mustang's perverse ways have already affected me...just great._

"No, you can't! Ed, we came here to have fun! How can you have fun just sleeping? You're missing out!" Winry complained, leaning down to get a better look at his face.

Ed immediately snapped his eyes up to meet hers. There was a slight red hue on his cheeks that he couldn't hide no matter what he did so he decided to blame it on the intense sunlight if she ever asked.

"For your information," Ed started, a matter-of-factly, "I _am _having fun. I don't need to get into the water to have fun, you know, and it's not like I can anyway." He glanced irritatingly at his leg. "This damn thing would drown me if I gave it the chance!"

Winry frowned, kneeling down.

That was a bad idea.

Edward felt his eyes widen when he caught sight of her full cleavage.

It wasn't fair, he decided, as she rambled about the many things he could do at the beach. It just wasn't fair that she was strutting all of _that _in his face and no matter how much – how _badly _he'd say – he wanted to touch them he couldn't.

_And why can't I? _Ed groused, still staring at her chest. _Oh, yes, now I remember: because she said she'd assault me with her wrench when we got home! _He groaned and fell back, crossing his arms behind his head and ignoring Winry plainly.

She stopped talking when she noticed his scowl.

"Were you even listening to me?"

"Yeah."

"Then what did I say?"

"Stuff."

She crossed her arms over her chest again. "What's wrong now?"

"Nothing."

"Ed."

"What?"

"What's got you so angry?"

"Nothing!" he snapped. "Just leave me alone already! Jeez! I'm fine! I'm having fun here, reading my book and just lazing around! I don't need to go into the water, I don't need to go run around like some idiot, and I _do not _need to go play some sports with _those_ morons!" Ed snorted derisively at the idea, pointing to Mustangs entourage that played volley-ball somewhere beside him; far enough for the ball to not disturb him.

"Okay, calm down!" Winry scowled. "Now I _know_ something's wrong. You don't just snap at me like that unless something's bothering you."

"_Nothing_ is bothering me," he hissed. His eyes flickered to her chest once before he turned away and deepened his scowl. Her eyes narrowed a bit and she once again became conscious of her scantly clad body. She had never dressed so provocatively before and honestly she had felt a little timid in the beginning. But Riza had convinced her that she looked fine and she shouldn't be scared to walk around in public in a swim suit.

There were other women wearing worse swimwear than her and the thought caused her to loosen up. However, she was still rather bare...

She smiled suddenly. "I think I know what has you so cranky."

Ed rolled his eyes and further ignored her. He closed his eyes, intent on ignoring her until she left him alone, as it usually _worked _for the matter, when he heard her moving around him. He cracked one eye open, watching her lean over him and grab the umbrella handle.

_Oh, COME ON! _Ed bemoaned inside his head, as her chest was thrust into his face. He turned away and resisted a grunt. _What the hell? Is it Torture Ed Day or something? _He could feel the blood start to rush to his loins again; start to spring up the primal instincts that urged him to reach forward and rip that top right off her body.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ed strained, adamant on not looking at her as she crawled under the large umbrella. She sat right beside his head, giving him a lovely view of her bulging chest.

_She's doing this on purpose, _he thought, darkly. _That damn gear-head! _He screwed his eyes shut and growled in his throat.

"You idiot," Winry giggled, reaching to brush some strands of hair from his eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't have worn this..."

"Youe damn right you shouldn't've," Ed gruffed. "I'm tempted to shove you back into the dressing room. I don't like you walking around half-naked."

"It's not _that _skimpy," Winry rolled her eyes.

"Says you!" Ed scoffed. "Anyone can clearly imagine whats under that; no problem! I nearly shoved me metal foot up Mustang's ass for commenting on your appearance."

"What did he say?" she asked, curiously.

"Nothing that would help you in life," Ed replied scathingly. "He _never _says anything that would help you life." _He just likes to point out the obvious. _"And its not like _that _pathetic excuse for clothing would ever help you in life either!" He finished with a bite.

"Quit it, Ed! If you hate my swimsuit so much then why didn't you say anything when I bought it?" Winry snapped. "You were _there_! Remember?"

"That was because I trusted your common sense!" Ed blew up. "Now I know to never do that again because this is the last time you're _ever _wearing that!"

"You can't tell me what to do, Edward!" Winry fired back, angry he even _thought_ he could dictate her life.

"Like hell I can't," Ed snarled, sitting up and getting in her face. Winry pursed her lips, staring him down unflinchingly. "You will _not _wear this_ swimsuit_," - he spat the word like a curse - "in public ever again!" His eyes were molten, boring into her own strongly.

She nearly looked away. His eyes were like looking into the sun. If you looked at it for too long it blinded you with its brilliance.

"You're just sore because you can't do anything," she muttered, knowing fairly well why he was acting like such an ass. She flicked her gaze to the side to avoid his blistering glare.

She huffily reached forward and grabbed the book he had let fall off his stomach. She placed it promptly over his crotch, causing the man to flush scarlet. "I _was _going to help you out but now I don't want to. Good luck with _that_, Ed," she added sweetly. "By the way, you're bunking with Al tonight, too."

She crawled out, giving him a perfect view of her bottom, and walked away just like that.

Ed gawked after her. He ground his teeth and violently grabbed the book she had set over his bulging shorts.

"YOU'RE GONNA' PAY FOR THAT, WINRY!"

"Yeah, yeah!" She laughed back, sending him a sly grin over her shoulders as she splashed back into the sea water; wadding over to Al and Mei, who where speaking amicably over something or the other as they floated on their backs.

"Damn it!" Ed cursed acerbically under his breath. His eyes tentatively glanced to his groin.

This was a problem he would have to solve on his own, it seemed, as he recited the periodic table in his head and felt the primitive desires painfully begin to lock up inside of him once more.

He would get her back.

...

Eventually.

* * *

**A/N: **Post-Promised Day, of course.

Huh. I didn't think it'd turn out this way in the end. I saw that magazine cover with Winry and Riza and another girl posted in front and I noticed Ed had this weird expression on his face. That's where the sunny beach idea came from.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	23. W is for Weakness

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**W **_is for **W**eakness

* * *

"_What was that girls name again? Oh, yes, Winry Rockbell." His eyes were merciless; cold. They stared unflinchingly into his own, darkened with a mocking challenge that he refused to take. The State Alchemist watch sat between them on the mahogany desk, innocent, yet the splatters of blood and deep scratches that marred its once-smooth surface spoke of horrors no normal man would be able to imagine._

"_You stay away from her!" Edward snarled, slamming his palms down on the desk. "Don't you dare lay a finger on her nor the people she cares about!"_

"_You have a very soft heart," he murmured back, casually. "What shall you do now?"_

_Bradley rested his chin upon his twined hands. The ruthless truth lay in his dark forest eyes and Edward had no doubt in his mind that he would execute something terrible if he continued to rebel. _

"_Damn it," Clenching his jaw, he snatched the watch from the table and shoved it back into his pocket, eyes blistering with barely-contained rage as Bradley upturned his lips into a hidden smirk._

It had been terrible, what he had felt in those crucial seconds. The cold spell that washed through his body; the absolute horror that clutched his sides, making it hard to breath without wheezing; the rage that clouded his thoughts – that threatened to break free from its restraints and lash out at the smug man who exuded an arrogance he simply could not stand.

The Homunculus had played his cards right.

He had strategically maneuvered his way into his unguarded side; took him by surprise and coldly watched him fall apart.

This was why he had never wanted to drag Winry into his affairs in the first place. She posed too much of a risk if they inferred that she meant more to him than a simple mechanic. Every time she came to Central to visit and everytime she wouldn't stay put was yet another crack in the glass he had tried so hard to put up between them.

It had shattered the instant Wrath had spoken those words.

They knew.

And that was that.

All that calculated distance he had placed between them; all of those callous words, the way he pushed her away whenever she pushed back; everything he had worked so hard to attain, had put so much thought into doing, was wasted by the knowledge that they knew Winry meant more to him than a simple mechanic and it would break him in more ways than one if they ever hurt her.

He remembered storming out of the office, eyes ablaze with fury, with Alphonse at his side, seething quietly. No one would ever even notice the younger of the two as angry as the elder.

Alphonse Elric had always been better at managing his anger than he was...

_He still is._ He gazed unseeingly toward the dining room table...thoughts a mess in his head...

"What're you thinking about?" Winry asked curiously, placing a bowl of ripe fruit on the table. His train of thought snapped, Edward flashed his eyes up to her before leaning back on the chair casually and yawning.

"It's nothing," he replied, eyes still misty with recollections. "I was just thinking about my State Alchemist watch."

"They let you keep it, right?" she said absently, tapping her finger against the rim of the bowel. "Are you still mad?"

"'Bout?"

"That day, remember?" she began, a little timidly. "Back at Rush Valley? I forced open your watch and...saw inside."

Edward remembered that day. He had been shocked she had gone against his wishes and forced the watch open but at the same time he wasn't really surprised. Her curiosity for what he kept locked inside of him must've been bursting at the seams – he didn't really blame her for forcing the watch open although he had been annoyed with her for better part of the day.

"Nah," he smiled. "I got over that a long time ago."

"But, you said not even Al knew what was inside that watch," she said in low tones. "Did you ever tell him?"

"Nope," Ed heaved a sigh. "It slipped my mind for the most part. Besides," he added darkly, "it isn't something I'm very proud of."

Winry dropped her gaze. She worried her bottom lip, brows scrunched together in concern. He had told her as much. He wasn't pleased with what he had resorted to – scratching that fateful date into the watch to keep him going – but she honestly didn't think lowly of him. She gave him too much credit, actually. To think that Edward Elric was cold and heartless was absurd; he was the most caring person she knew.

Perhaps he cared too _much_.

"Stop making that face."

She looked up. "What?"

He had his cheek resting on his knuckles now. His posture was lethargic, as if he would rather be dozing on the couch than sitting there starting useless conversation with her, yet his eyes remained sharp and vigil. There was also a seriousness that stained them a rusted shade of gold.

She briefly wondered how he was able to do that...

"I said, stop making that pitiful face," he scoffed. "It's nothing, alright? It was just something I don't feel very proud of. Everybody has something like that. Even you do."

"I-I know but..."

"It doesn't matter anymore," he breathed in deeply, releasing the breath in one sharp blow. His eyes became lighter, a softer shade of the once darkened gold they were, as he said: "It'll be like...our secret, you know?"

"Our secret...?" Winry whispered, her eyes searching his own.

He brightened. "Yeah, aren't you always complaining about me keeping too many secrets from you? Well, now we've got something that even Al doesn't know!" He stood up and stretched his arms above his head, stifling another yawn. "So stop making that face, deal?"

She smiled. "Deal."

"Great. Oh, man," Ed groaned, rubbing his sore neck. "It was a mistake to ever visit Teach—Izumi last week! I'm still sore from training with her! Goddamn, I bet that's why Alphonse hasn't woken up yet." He glanced wearily at the staircase. "I told him not to butt in but he wanted to participate...now he suffers the consequences."

Winry laughed. "You two never learn! You're always looking trouble!" She picked up an apple from the bowl and took a bite out of it. "I'll be in the workshop if you need me. I have some orders to fill out by tomorrow!"

"Yeah, sure," Ed mumbled, watching her disappear around a corer; to her workshop, where she would indulge in her passion for hours until he came clambering down and pounded on the door for her to get out and _eat_ something.

She was the last person he would give his life to. Alphonse was a given but she was absolutely the last person he'd give anything to make happy. She had been there for him through thick and thin and stubbornly refused to be pushed away, despite his efforts, and stuck close to him throughout all the danger. She never let her fear show; instead she insisted that everything would turn out alright in the end and he would save the country somehow, someway.

She also refused to be swayed by the horrible scenarios he let roll in his head. She frankly told him that he shouldn't be worrying about her when he had bigger fish to fry! She didn't mind being targeted by the military and she hadn't minded being put in grave danger by being forced into the murderous hands of Scar. She had braved through it and somehow found closure for the gaping wound in her chest due to her parents.

She was strong.

She was resilient.

She was a big cry baby at the worst times and the best coach at others.

He smiled.

She was his weakness and he didn't really mind anymore.

* * *

_**A/N: **_Post-Promise Day FTW!

Review! :D

_Scarlett._


	24. X is for Xerxes

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

**_X_ **is for **X**erxes

* * *

"Brother, you _do _know that the horses drink from that, right?"

"Yeah, your point?" Edward shot back at his brother, sighing in relief as he jumped into the tub of refreshing water. A horse's snout came up behind him, nipping his hair but he merely waved the animal off with a shake of his head.

"That's disgusting, Ed," Winry wrinkled her nose. "You're going to reek of horse spit!"

"Better than stinking of sweat!" Edward sunk into the water, taking his shirt off under water and inwardly relishing how the cold water cooled off his overheating automail leg. He just wished he was able to take off his pants, too; then everything would be _perfect_...

He broke through the surface and stood up, dripping wet, shaking his soaked hair like a dog and making Winry shout at him for being such an animal.

"Like you should be complaining," he smirked at her, causing a hue of red to appear over her cheeks. "You know you love it."

"Ugh, y-you're so shameless!" she scoffed, upturning her nose.

"No, I'm honest," he cheekily replied. "Isn't that you said you wanted me to be? Honest? Make up your mind already, jeez." He ignored her when she began her shrieking tirade, wringing his shirt out of excess water. While this developed, Alphonse's eyes were fixed on a certain spot on his brothers body.

His hip.

His leather jeans were a little low on his waist, given that he had taken off his belt before he hopped into the water as the leather often ruined when soaked and, since he didn't have his alchemy anymore, fixing it was out of the question...even though Al had no problem fixing it for his brother but Ed's pride just got in the way of that.

"B-brother..." Al started slowly, still staring.

Winry stopped shouting and Edward stopped ignoring her, both of them turning to Alphonse, who was looking a little wondrous.

"What's the matter?" Ed asked, voice edging serious. "Alphonse?"

"Al?" Winry asked softly.

"Brother...what is _that_," he pointed to his hip in awe.

Ed frowned and looked at himself. "What's what?"

Now Winry was staring with her mouth slightly agape, too. "Ed, what is _that_!"

"What's _what?_" Ed grumbled, irately. "What the heck are you guys looking at?"

"Is that...what I think it is?" Al asked, incredulously, looking at Winry for assurance.

"I think it is," Winry muttered, shocked she hadn't noticed it before.

"What the hells _what?_ What the hell are you two talking about!" He searched himself, seeing nothing out of the ordinary on his person. Then his eyes landed on the peeking black tattoo on his hip and his face paled.

He slapped a hand over it, snapping his head up to meet with two pairs of narrowed eyes.

He gulped. "I-I can explain! I swear I can!"

"So it _is_ a tattoo?" Winry scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Since when do _you_ have one and how come I didn't know about it, huh?"

"Yeah, how come you never told me, too, brother!" Al added, crossing his arms in disapproval. "A tattoo, Ed? Really? Is that how low you've stooped..."

"HEY! IT'S COOL, ALRIGHT!" he shouted, defensive. He wouldn't admit it to Havoc but it _did _look pretty badass on him...

"What the heck is it, anyway?" Winry snorted at her next thought: "Some weird-ass alchemy junk?"

"It's _not _some 'weird-ass alchemy junk'," he mimicked her ridiculously. "It's the Flamel symbol, for you information!"

"Flame what?"

Ed resisted the urge to run a hand down his face. Hadn't he had this conversation before with Havoc? He irritatedly unzipped and unbuttoned his pants, ignoring the gasps from Winry and his brother, and lowered his pants enough to show them the clearly printed image in his hip.

"Hey, that's that symbol on your red cloak..." Winry trailed off, gazing at the tattoo with curious eyes.

"Whoa, why didn't you tell me before, brother!" Alphonse exclaimed, peering at the image with something close to admiration. "...Did it hurt?"

Ed smirked. "Not one bit!" _It was agonizing, _he added in his head. However, his little brother didn't need to know that...

"Ha!" Winry mocked. "I bet he was crying like a baby! He _is_ scared of needles, after all."

"I am _not _scared of anything," Ed denied snidely. "If I were scared of needles, do you think I would've gotten _this_ on me?" _Even though I was forced by Havoc and I nearly chickened out... _But she didn't need to know that.

Winry still looked skeptical but she didn't say anything else, huffing away back to the horses they had come on; taking out her bottle of water and taking a long drink as the eastern sun beat down on her pale skin.

"Why didn't you tell me before, Ed?" Al frowned, looking mildly put down. "I mean, I wouldn't have said anything bad about it or anything...teacher has the same tattoo on her collarbone. Doesn't Sig have her name on his back, too?"

Ed felt a little guilty. He had kept this small piece of information to himself in fear of his brother reacting negatively. He also didn't need Winry bashing his skull in because of his impulsive decisions. However, everything seemed to be turning out _okay_...

"I thought you wouldn't like it," Ed admitted, a little sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Al. I shoulda' told you a long time ago, huh?"

"Yeah...but it does look kinda cool," he smiled up at him, making Ed's smile widen.

"Hey, Ed?" Winry called, cutting the boys of their small bonding moment. "Why'd you get it on your hip of all places?"

Ed blinked. "Uh, because I didn't want it anywhere else?"

"Yeah, brother, how come you got it on your hip?" Al asked, curiously. "I thought you would've gotten it on your arm or something..."

He touched his right arm self-consciously. "Not likely," he muttered. A sentence came back to him, one that he _really _didn't want to hear at the moment – with his brother and Winry looking expectantly at him.

"_It'd be the first thing that lucky woman of yours see's when you fuck—"_

His grew progressively red with every dirty image that flashed through his head. To make matters worse, he kept staring at Winry, who nervously cocked her head to the side.

"What is it?" she asked, shifting under his intense gaze.

"N-nothing," he cleared his throat, turning away and pushing Havoc's clever words into the deepest part of his mind. "I just got it on my hip because it was the...least...obvious place on my body?" he laughed nervously.

"Ed, are you hiding something?" Winry eyed him.

"NO!" He turned away, buckling his pants back up and getting out of the tub. He slipped his boots back on, ignoring his brothers "you're still wet! You should wait until you're dry!", and lacing up the laces quickly. "Why can't you just take my word for it for once?" he grumbled to her, voice too loud. "This was just one thing I didn't want to go showing off, alright? Drop it!"

"Okay! Jeez," Winry rolled her eyes. She added, just to appease the steaming former-alchemist: "It does look a little cool, alright? But if you get any more I swear I'll make you regret it," she warned.

Ed looked up at her, a smile crawling on his face despite the annoyance he felt for her. "Promise," he grinned toothily.

She shook her head, heading back to the horses to continue their trek east. "Honestly..."

Once she was far enough, Al said, mischievously: "So, why _did _you get it on your hip?"

Edward flushed again, muttering: "...I-it'd be the first thing Winry would see..."

Al rose a brow. "Okay, how is that special?"

"It's special because—!" He stopped. Of course his brother wouldn't get it! He, thankfully, wasn't a big pervert...it was too late for Ed though: he'd been corrupted by the sly military officer's he'd hung around with so much during his younger days.

_I took all the corruption in exchange for my little brother's innocence and I'll to continue doing it, damn it! _he thought, self-sacrificially, unable to resist a slight snicker. _'Sides, it's not like he needs to know about making out or positions or all that good stuff just yet, _he crackled inwardly, not at all ashamed by his extensive knowledge in this particular subject so long as no one else knew...except maybe Winry, but that was another thing altogether...

He was a guy, after all: a _scientific _guy who was always in pursue of knowledge...and he hung around with _really_ easy men.

Put two and two together and the outcome wasn't always very modest.

"It's nothing, little bro," he dismissed with a secretive grin. "Just forget it. I'll tell you when you're older."

"_Older?_ Ed, I'm seventeen—!"

Edward walked back to the horses, his brothers calls falling on deaf ears as he began to slip his shirt back on. He snuck up on Winry, attacking her sides with his fingers and howling in laughter when she shrieked and dropped the bottle of water; proceeding to chase after him with her wrench for scaring the living mechanic out of her.

Al, meanwhile, gaped at the fact that his brother _still_ thought he was ten even though he knew perfectly well what he had meant. It had all been confirmed, especially when he briefly caught sight of his brother pushing Winry behind a crumbled wall ahead...

He wondered if Ed would ever fall out of his older-brother complex as he hauled himself onto the horse and grumbled to himself.

* * *

_**A/N: **_Ah, Ed, always thinking his little brother isn't capable of something so bad. Too bad Alphonse is just as 'in pursue of the truth' as his older brother...hehe.

Review!

_Scarlett._


	25. Y is for Yearn

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**Y **_is for **Y**earn

* * *

Winry drowsily opened her eyes. She stifled a yawn and turned her head, only to stare at Hohenheim. The seven-year-old girl let her eyes stray to his outstretched hand, which trembled very slightly in the dim room. She could feel Edward and Alphonse doze quietly beside her; she even felt Edward give one of his infamous kicks and shove her a little more to the side as he got comfortable once more.

"Mister Hohenheim?" Winry asked, softly. "Wha'sa matter?"

Edward's father had always been a mystery to Winry. He was very sullen and silent and did not say a single word whenever the Rockbell's and Elric's spent some time together out by the Elric's front porch; speaking about old times and laughing at memories.

He was huge – the size of a bear, her granny had once joked – but he was also very...sad. There was a gloomy, pained, glimmer in his golden eyes that she could clearly see. There was always a controlled way to his movements; to his words. She would see him stiffly nod at her whenever she greeted him, because her mother told her it was the polite thing to do, and there was always a restraint to his motions whenever they were close to him.

Trisha did not seem to mind. She patted his shoulder affectionately and smiled warmly at him whenever he got too wound up. She could see the love between them and she remembered thinking that, one day, she wanted something like that. Her parents had that same gaze in their eyes – that sparkle of warmth and adoration – and she found herself wishing to the shooting stars she saw at night that one day, when she was older, someone would look at her like that; with that twinkle of yearn, that soft smile of care.

Hohenheim retracted his hand as if he had burnt it and smiled tightly in return. "It is nothing, Winry, please go back to sleep. I am sorry for disturbing you."

Winry picked at her blanket, rubbing her scratchy eyes. "Okay..."

The man stood, towering over her, and turned on his heel mechanically. She watched him leave with droopy eyes. But she was awake enough to say: "Good night mister Hohenheim! Mommy says that its not healthy for someone to stay up so late and Ed and Al tell me that you stay up all night sometimes! Be careful cause it could cause hazard...hazardous health problems!" She beamed proudly at managing to use the word her mother so often repeated whenever she did something reckless with Ed and Al.

Hohenheim became very still. She watched with curious eyes as he slowly looked over his shoulder and, through his spectacles, warmly smiled at her. That had been the first time she had ever seen such an expression of warmth fleet his rugged face.

"Thank you for your concern but I'll be fine."

"'Kay..." Winry snuggled back under the covers and watched Hohenheim close the door behind him. His heavy steps resounded in the drafty house before another door opened and shut and all was silent once more. Her crystal blue eyes flashed to the clock overhead and squinted when she couldn't see the numbers right. She could make out a six and she assumed it was six in the evening by the darkness in the room.

She thought back to the warm smile. Then she thought about Ed and Al – her best friends – and smiled a little.

She wondered if they would grow up like Hohenheim – big, scary, but with a soft heart.

She hoped so but she was a little wary about Ed...

He _was _a runt, after all.

But maybe he would have this so-called 'growth spurt' her mother assured her about when she asked why Ed was such a shorty.

In that moment, she vowed to shove as much milk as she could down his throat so he could grow up to be big and strong like his father.

She fell back to sleep with a small smile on her face.

* * *

**A/N: **I wanted to include Hohenheim again. Sue me. This was actually going to revolve around the Elric family but then I decided to make it Winry-centric. I was reading the manga and I saw that Hohenheim really wished for the warmth of a family but his belief of him being a monster prevented him from forging a bond with the boys. That's really sad, if you think about it D:

Poor Ho-Ho!

Review!

_Scarlett._


	26. Z is for Zero Defect

_**Alphabetum  
by. **Poisoned Scarlet_

* * *

_**Z**_ is for **Z**ero-Defect

* * *

Al knew he had been thinking about it for a long time.

Ever since his brother had managed to start _something _with her, it had been lingering in the back of his mind; the sleepless nights proved it. The idea had only grown the more time he spent with her and the more he realized that she was not just some metal-obsessed junkie with a temper problem but an actual intellectual being that had a deep-set passion for the prosthesis he used to stand on his own with.

The curiosity to know her (_to really, truly, know her_) grew along with his desire to spend most of his days with her, Al would say from what he had observed. It had been small, slow, in the beginning; sometimes he would linger around the house, reading a book or napping or having brief conversations with the girl. But then it began...to change into something greater.

He started hanging around her, even if he wasn't speaking to her – just knowing she was _there _had been enough. Then he had begun to initiate conversations, then he begun to observe her expressions; her reactions. Edward had told Al that this growing curiosity to know her was just the scientist in him but Al wasn't too convinced.

Eventually...he was spending all his free time with her.

Pinako had said it was about damn time.

He thought the same.

Though he wished they'd just push their pride aside and go out already!

If it wasn't Edward who was searching for her, it was Winry. If it wasn't Winry, it was Edward. Eventually, Al and Pinako had just decided to let them work for it instead of answering their annoying questions of _have you seen Winry? _or _where's Ed?_

It had soon progressed into a relationship when Al noticed that Winry and Edward no longer hung out where they could keep an eye on them.

And if that didn't convince him, when he accidentally walked into a rather heated lip-lock session sure did.

He never went to look for them again.

However, the questioned remained: what happened next?

"You can't just keep her as your girlfriend forever, you know." Al pipped up, the nights shadow obstructing his view of his older brother. He squinted at the darkness, barely managing to catch Edward's body shifting until he was on his back; one had strewn over his forehead and another over his stomach.

"I know that," Ed replied, irksomely. "I just started dating her like two months ago! Calm down, Alphonse!"

"We both know that you wouldn't want to be with any one else," Al stated bluntly. "So whats so bad about getting this over with early?"

Edward was quiet for a moment. "W-well, what if she doesn't...want to go that far yet?" he began, awkwardly. "I mean, I may want to spend the rest of my life with her but what if she...doesn't?"

Al shook his head, a small smile gracing his face. "Ed, trust me when I say that she'd be more than thrilled to be the next 'Mrs. Elric'," he chuckled softly, imagining his brothers pink face in his mind. "Surely you know that she waited for _you _all of these years, right?"

"...She might've mentioned something along those lines once," he muttered. "But that doesn't mean she'd want to tie the knot, Al."

"It's traditional that the male of the relationship proposes first," Al sang out softly, so as not to wake anyone else in the household. "Of course, Winry has always been the more dominate one soo..."

"_What?_" Ed shouted, before lowering his voice to a hiss: "You take that back, Al! Are you calling me soft?"

"Not at all, big brother."

"Alphonse!" Ed snapped. "You better be joking or else you're gonna' get it tomorrow!"

Al rolled his eyes. "Focus, Ed," he said instead, rolling on his back as well and gazing at the ceiling; at the strange shadows cast by the large tree that was rooted right beside the window, tree branches bending to the winds command. "There are a few things that I want to do before _I_ can settle down," he began. "What about you?"

"Same," he replied, a conflicting note in his tone. "I have an idea of what you're talking about, too. But what does this have to with asking Winry...that?"

"It has to do with it because she won't wait forever," Al answered. "You and her might be dating as of now but when you leave again, and for a while at that, do you really think she'll spend another few years waiting for your sorry butt to come back? Winry might love you with all her heart but even she can grow tired of waiting for a guy who's always going along with the wind currents."

The silence that followed told Alphonse he was considering it; thinking it through with analytical focus. His eyes almost fell closed when his brothers soft chortle woke him up again.

"When did you get to be so poetic, Al?" Edward joked, letting his eyes leisurely drift to the comfortable form of his brother. "You better watch out or else you'll get the rep for being the Full Metal Alchemists' gay brother."

"Hey!" Al frowned, mildly offended. "Just because I can empathize with women and I actually have _manners_ doesn't make me gay, you know!"

"Yeah...it just makes you a wimp."

"Edward!"

"I'll ask her," he said abruptly. Alphonse turned to face his brother, who was still gazing at the ceiling; a new determined sparkle in his amber eyes. "She's perfect. I can't really see myself liking another girl like I do her so there's really no reason for me to wait any longer, right?" Edward revealed softly, his brother hanging onto his every word. "She's the most amazing woman I've met and I highly doubt any other girl can top her...she also makes a killer apple pie," he rolled onto his side, exhaling a sigh. "If that doesn't convince me, what will?"

Al grinned, his excitement leaking into his next words: "Aww, that was so sweet brother! You love her so much! That's so cute!"

"AL!" Ed snapped. "What'd I tell you about being a pussy?"

"ED!" Al snapped right back, smile turning downward into a scowl. "That's not very nice, you know! I was just showing you how happy I am that you're not repressing you emotions again and coming off as a numbskull with the table manner akin to that of a monkey!"

"Who're you callin' so vulgar he'd make Roy Mustang look like a knight and shining armor!" Ed exploded, grinding his teeth as his brothers snorting laughing drifted through the room.

"You'll never change," Al laughed. "I'm glad."

Edward's irritation cooled at the sound of his brothers fond laughter. He turned back to the ceiling, which was now lighter than it had been a few minutes ago. His eyes flashed to the clock that was situated across from him and he managed to make out the time: four fifty six in the morning.

It seemed that sleep could not claim both Elric brothers that night but Edward didn't really mind.

His thoughts steered to Central, to that jewelry shop he had frequently passed by whenever he walked toward Central HQ. There was an array of promise rings and engagement bands but he had only briefly taken the time to survey the rings during his trips...

None of them caught his eye, however. If he was going to propose to the girl of his dreams, he might as well give her a ring worthy of being daydreamed about, right?

_Ouch. Too much thinking, _he sighed inwardly. "I'm gonna' go take a piss."

"Just a forewarning, brother: if you're going to actually marry Winry, you might want to keep those types of comments to yourself."

"What're you talking about? Once she's mine there's _more_ of a reason for me to make those types of comments!"

Al pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why did I let you win again?"

Edward stopped by the threshold of the door, a sneaking smirk making its way on his face. "Obviously because I'm better!" His voice softened a bit: "And because out of the two of us, I've _always_ had a thing for her."

"I did, too, once."

"_Once_," Ed stressed. "If you still did, I guess I'd have to kick your ass," he humored.

"Would you?"

Edward traced the inside of the door frame with his finger, seriously contemplating it. "To me, Winry is the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. She's waited long enough and now that I managed to keep my promise to you, it's about time I made another promise to her...sorry to say, Alphonse, but this is one thing I just can't let you have."

Alphonse felt a proud smile tug on his lips. "That was exactly what I wanted to hear."

Ed drummed his finger against the frame for a moment. "You can forget about her now, Al – go hook up with that annoying bean-girl; I hear Xingese make killer stir fry!" He snickered as he left, his little brothers spluttering only making him laugh harder.

* * *

**A/N: **It's over! Oh my gosh, it's finally over! I kind of wish it was longer because I adore writing mini stories like this! Its a big break from writing long stories, that's for sure!

I am seriously contemplating taking up the Ed/Winry 100 themes challenge but as of right now, I've got nothing in that collection so trying to start it now, so late into vacation, would mean that it probably wouldn't be updated as frequently as my last two collections were. I already had a 6 chapter head-start with this one so it was fairly easy to have dates in which I'd update since, even if I didn't have inspiration for it, I'd have enough to keep my schedule going.

Breaking News: I got an idea for another collection XD I'm posting it up, I've already written 6 chapters in this short time-span! So it's going on here! Its the 100 themes challenge with a twist and, er, it probably won't be 100 chapters long...you shall see, just go check it out when you have some time!

Thank you all for your supporting reviews! I'll miss 'em, that's for sure :D

_Scarlett._


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